5 Worst Movie Presidents Ever
By Ben Johnson
The President of the United States. Commander in Chief. Leader of the free world. It is the highest office in the land, so it’s no surprise the office has been featured countless times in movie history. Sometimes the character of the given president is truly inspirational – Independence Day’s President Whitmore and Lincoln’s Honest Abe come straight to mind. Sometimes the president is just a part of the proceedings, the figurehead at the center of a government full of shady, conspiratorial characters or the man pressing the big red button that threatens to destroy our heroes. But every once in a while, he is a buffoon incapable of running a lemonade stand to the point that you wonder who his fictional competition was in the last election. Here are some nominees for Worst Movie President Ever.
President Arnold Schwarzenegger (Harry Shearer) – The Simpsons Movie
A high-stress job like the presidency typically requires a lot of work. Sleepless nights, calls with foreign leaders, making the tough decisions. But if there’s one thing President Schwarzenegger will not stand for, it’s reading. When presented with five “unthinkable” solutions to the severe pollution in Springfield, each one “causing untold misery,” President Arnold randomly picks option three, declaring that he “was elected to lead, not to read.” I think we’d all appreciate a little more efficiency in our government, but the Governator could have at least given the options a skim!
President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews) – Idiocracy
“Five-time Ultimate Smackdown champion, porn superstar, and President of the United States.” That’s how Terry Crews’ President Camacho is introduced in Idiocracy, a movie about a future where human intelligence has been bred out of existence and low IQs reign supreme. As you might expect from that premise, things like foreign policy and executive orders have been replaced with demolition derbies and presidential AK-47s. For his time, Camacho is among the most popular presidents in American history, but his lack of intelligence nearly led to the elimination of every crop in the country. I will give credit where it’s due though – Camacho did travel back in time before last year’s election to provide some inspiration for prospective voters on Funny or Die. Now that’s leadership.
President Baxter Harris (Leslie Nielsen) – Scary Movie Series
President Harris is by leaps and bounds the stupidest head of state on this list (well, at least in comparison to the rest of his society). We would probably impeach the president if he was more concerned about the end of a children’s book than an alien invasion, but that’s exactly where Harris’ priorities lie. He follows that up with a series of racist one-liners at the United Nations, proving that a joke is not always the best way to grab the audience during your speech, and caps things off nicely by inadvertently disrobing every delegate in the room with an alien weapon. I get the feeling that a stunt like that did some damage to America’s approval rating abroad.
President Skroob (Mel Brooks) – Spaceballs
OK, I’m cheating a little bit with this one because Skroob is not the president of the United States, but of Planet Spaceball, but it’s my article and I love this movie. As you might expect from an authority figure in a Mel Brooks film, he’s totally incompetent, not to mention in cahoots with the evil Dark Helmet in a scheme to steal all of the oxygen from Planet Druidia. You can tell a lot about a leader by the people he surrounds himself with, and Skroob is flanked by a lot of numbskulls. I mean, the crew of his planet’s flagship are unable to capture a woman guided by Joan Rivers-bot and they can’t even stop a Winnebago run by Bill Pullman and a half-man half-dog. Time to fire the entire cabinet, Skroob. Start with the little dude with the big helmet.
President Bush (James Adomian) – Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
There have been plenty of interpretations of real presidents on the big screen, but few of those can compare to the George W. Bush Harold and Kumar meet after their escape from Guantanamo Bay. This version of W is a foul-mouthed, insecure man who smokes marijuana laced with cocaine to escape his troubles (and Dick Cheney). He also has some serious H.W. issues and is a big fan of the shenanigans the guards pull at Gitmo. While Will Ferrell’s SNL impersonation is probably number one all time, this is the most crass impression of Bush yet.