Designated Survivor (TV Series)

The Enemy (2016)

Kiefer Sutherland: Tom Kirkman

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Quotes 

• Tom Kirkman : I never thought I'd be in a position to decide who lives or dies.

• Harris Cochrane : Mr. President. I wasn't expecting you, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : That's pretty obvious, general. Is it true that you gave the order to take the Algerian air defenses offline?

  Harris Cochrane : Yes, sir. I ordered Cyb-Command at Fort Meade to set a glide path through Algerian airspace.

  Tom Kirkman : Without clearing it through me or Algeria, which happens to be one of our allies. Correct me if I'm wrong, general, but is that not an act of war?

  Harris Cochrane : It was necessary preparation.

  Tom Kirkman : For an attack I have not authorized yet.

  Harris Cochrane : You tried diplomacy. It failed. And now you're risking the entire country to protect one person? I did what needed to be done.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, general, one day if you become president, you can make that call. But as long as I am and one of our own is unaccounted for, we do nothing that will jeopardize their safety any further. I agreed to twelve hours.

  Harris Cochrane : These terrorists came to our home. They killed our people. Any sacrifices we make to eradicate them from the face of the Earth are sacrifices worth making. When a snake's in your kitchen, you don't invite it to dinner, you cut off its head.

  Tom Kirkman : You make a good point, general. And seeing that this is my kitchen... I am relieving you of your command, effective immediately.

  Harris Cochrane : What?

  Tom Kirkman : General, you are fired.

• Seth Wright : Mr. President, you're here late.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, technically, I live here, so... it appears you're the one who's here late.

• Tom Kirkman : Aaron told me that you turned down the job of press secretary.

  Seth Wright : I did, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : It's a shame. I was the one who offered it.

  Seth Wright : Sir, with all due respect, I felt there were other people far more qualified than I was. Rosemary Jones, for example, has three years experience on Senator Ford's staff...

  Tom Kirkman : Carter had a pretty good resume, too, and look how that turned out. Aaron's motivations were political, but mine were simple. I was just looking for the right person for the job. Today's crisis was racially motivated. Tomorrow's could be gun control, a women's issue. I just wanted to have someone on the podium that I respected. Come on, Seth. Don't make me beg. Can I count on you?

  Seth Wright : It would be my honor, Mr. President.

  Tom Kirkman : Good. 'Cause if you thought today was intense, I'm gonna need you tomorrow.

  Seth Wright : Why? What's going on tomorrow?

  Tom Kirkman : I can't tell you, 'cause it's classified. But I'll let you know when it happens.

• Emily Rhodes : You federalized the National Guard?

  Tom Kirkman : Royce doesn't know yet. He may have won the battle, but we'll win the war.

• Tom Kirkman : Anything happen during the three hours I slept?

• Alex Kirkman : Really? Federalize the Guard? I thought we'd decided that that was a nuclear option.

  Tom Kirkman : It was. Governor Royce went there first.

  Aaron Shore : Now, is he within his legal rights?

  Alex Kirkman : U.S. code 12406; the president can federalize the National Guard whenever there is a rebellion or threat of a rebellion against the U.S. government. I think this qualifies.

  Aaron Shore : I thought you were an immigration attorney.

  Tom Kirkman : She aced constitutional law, too.

• Emily Rhodes : Mr. President, you lied to me. You said you'd trust me to fix this, and I did. He was ready to talk to you.

  Tom Kirkman : The governor was using a national tragedy to further his own agenda. He broke the law. He's going to jail.

  Emily Rhodes : I told him that he could count on you to be reasonable and just.

  Tom Kirkman : Did you know that during the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and arrested a legislator for trying to block Union troops from going south? I did what I thought was best.

  Emily Rhodes : For yourself.

  Tom Kirkman : No. For the country. And I sent a message to every other governor who thinks that they can question the legitimacy of this presidency. And anyone who thinks that they can usurp that needs to know that they will face the consequences. You did a great job, and I'm proud of you. And I am starting to realize more than I ever wanted to that doing the right thing doesn't always make you feel good.

• Director Carrera : Sammy Serafian is an American operative who has been in Algeria six years working under non-official cover. Sixteen months ago, he infiltrated Al-Sakar. This morning, we received a message from him confirming a direct link between Al-Sakar and the attack.

  Tom Kirkman : It says here that he found an unexploded ordnance with the same unique signature as the bomb from the Capitol site?

  Harris Cochrane : Yes, sir, confirming without a doubt that Al-Sakar was behind the attack.

  Tom Kirkman : Do we have a location?

  Director Carrera : Serafian was able to pinpoint Nassar's position; a compound in the tri-border region between Mali and Niger. Satellite surveillance confirms multiple vehicles and a heavy perimeter.

  Tom Kirkman : And we think that's Nassar's security.

  Harris Cochrane : Yes, Mr. President. On your order, F-18s can be deployed from the USS Eisenhower. We'll disable their air defense and reduce them to a stain in the sand within a matter of seconds.

  Tom Kirkman : Where's agent Serafian now?

  Director Carrera : We've lost contact with him, sir.

  Admiral Chernow : We gave him twenty-four hours to evacuate. That was six hours ago.

  Harris Cochrane : Sir, if we wait for him to surface, we may lose our window to take out the enemy.

  Tom Kirkman : And what's the probability that he's in the compound with him now?

  Director Carrera : It's high, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : So in all likelihood, if we bomb the compound, we'd be killing an American agent.

  Harris Cochrane : He knew the risks, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : I have to believe, general, that he's in Algeria trying to help his country, not get killed by it.

  Harris Cochrane : We have the enemy in our sights, the man who destroyed all three branches of our government, a thousand Americans. Are we gonna let one man stand in the way of retribution?

• Governor John Royce : [giving a press conference]  Not only is Michigan under attack from radicals, but our very democracy is being threatened by a man who has no right to call himself president. Does the man have no shame?

  Tom Kirkman : [watching on TV]  Well, he's got some nerve, I'll give him that.

• Tom Kirkman : I'm watching Royce now. What did he say to you?

  Emily Rhodes : For starters, he's refusing to let me leave the airport to observe the protest.

  Tom Kirkman : Son of a bitch.

  Emily Rhodes : And he's making sure the cameras capture every moment. I think it might be best if I come back to D.C. Every minute this plays out on national TV weakens your position.

  Tom Kirkman : No. How weak will our position be if I don't even put up a fight?

  Emily Rhodes : Well, if I come back now, we can rethink our approach and...

  Tom Kirkman : No, no, wait. Hold on. Wyatt!

  Wyatt : [offscreen]  Coming, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : [to Emily]  I got an idea. Just sit tight. I'll get back to you.

• Alex Kirkman : Tom, forcing a sitting governor to cede power to the feds creates a monumental precedent.

  Tom Kirkman : I know. But this is a tipping point. If I let Governor Royce set up a police state, how can I stop the other forty-nine governors from doing the same thing?

• Aaron Shore : Per your orders, Pentagon's working around the clock to find Majid Nassar. Schools have reopened. The Dow and the NASDAQ have both resumed trading. They're both down sharply.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, I guess today's not the day to check on your IRA. Where are we at with security?

  Aaron Shore : Law enforcement's still on high alert. Ports, nuclear plants, soft targets like malls and sports arenas.

  Tom Kirkman : Here's a long shot: any good news?

  Aaron Shore : Well, you slept three hours last night, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Ah, the little things.

  Aaron Shore : Oh, there's one more thing. Hookstraten insisted on being the first meeting of the day.

  Tom Kirkman : My god, doesn't she ever sleep?

• Tom Kirkman : General, it's barely 7:00 a.m. and I've already been ambushed by the presumptive Speaker, and I am facing a potential domestic crisis, so please choose your words wisely.

  Harris Cochrane : I don't need to, sir. We found Majid Nassar.

• Aaron Shore : So this is it? This is Emily's master plan? I mean, how long before it turns into Selma or Kent State?

  Tom Kirkman : Come on, Aaron, you of all people should acknowledge this is a brilliant move. Governor Royce can't incite violence on national television. He'll lose the moral high ground.

  Aaron Shore : Well, that's assuming that bigot cares about the moral high ground.

• Tom Kirkman : Welcome to Washington, D.C.

  Governor John Royce : Thank you. Took some doing, but I had a very nice conversation with your special advisor, and I welcome this chance for an honest and open dialogue.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, I think you'll find that I'm not going to be very flexible on this. You see, I believe that all Americans, regardless of race or religion, should be afforded and protected by the same inalienable rights.

  Governor John Royce : If I may...

  Tom Kirkman : You may not. Governor, you violated the rights of the citizens of Michigan, and today you conspired with the National Guard to defy a direct order from the president. James Royce, I am placing you under arrest for treason against the United States of America.

• [last lines] 

  Tom Kirkman : Did we get a positive ID on Serafian's body yet?

  Admiral Chernow : Yes, sir, it's been confirmed.

  Tom Kirkman : That tragedy lands at my door. I'm sorry. Admiral Chernow, you are in command. I would like to proceed with the attack in Algeria as planned.

  Admiral Chernow : Sir?

  Tom Kirkman : Admiral... prepare us for war.

• Tom Kirkman : What is it?

  Emily Rhodes : It's Michigan.

  Tom Kirkman : More violence against Muslims?

  Emily Rhodes : No, but there's about to be. Governor Royce is using your Elizabeth Vargas interview as justification to start arresting Muslims again. He claims that your admission that you were asked to resign makes you an illegitimate president. He's re-imposed the curfew and banned the public gatherings.

  Tom Kirkman : I'm guessing the Bill of Rights wasn't on the governor's summer reading list.