Designated Survivor (TV Series)

#thesystemisbroken (2019)

Kiefer Sutherland: Tom Kirkman

Photos 

Quotes 

• Tom Kirkman : [during the State of the Union]  If name-calling and petty grievances are what serve for debate in this great chamber, then Congress truly is in a sorry, sorry state. All you wanna do is tear things down. It is shameful. The system is broken, and you people broke it.

  Tom Kirkman : [watching on TV]  Well, I really screwed that up, didn't I?

• Tom Kirkman : This doesn't make sense. It's good for their states, their constituents, and they don't care? I mean, it's obvious they don't care about a bridge collapse in North Carolina. The bodies are still being pulled out of the rubble.

  Mars Harper : All due respect, Mr. President, I've been in this town a hell of a lot longer than you have, and if there is one constant to which you can set your watch, it's that this, too, shall pass.

  Tom Kirkman : So you're a watch guy, too?

  Mars Harper : Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

  Tom Kirkman : It's becoming the story of my life. What else we got?

  Mars Harper : Priority number one has got to be tapping a first-rate campaign manager. Did you check the list?

  Tom Kirkman : I did. But I wanna talk to someone who's not on it. Lorraine Zimmer.

  Mars Harper : She deputied Moss' run.

  Tom Kirkman : So she'd know the playbook on him. Could be invaluable. I also hear she's party agnostic, and I would like you set up the meet.

  Mars Harper : Will do, sir. Now, you need to lobby some senators, so maybe put on a suit.

• Tom Kirkman : I'm gonna have to do a lot more traveling in the coming months 'cause of the campaign. And I realized I never talked to you about me running again. How do you feel about it?

  Penny Kirkman : Well, I mean, it's kinda shitty, but I'll be okay.

  Tom Kirkman : Penelope Kirkman, your mother would've washed your mouth out with soap.

  Penny Kirkman : Dad, I saw the way you yelled at those people in Congress. You can't get all weird about my saying one curse word. Also, no one washes anyone's mouth out with soap anymore. That's totally not a thing.

  Tom Kirkman : Okay, who are you and what have you done with my daughter?

  Penny Kirkman : I gotta go. I'm gonna be late for school.

  Tom Kirkman : [to himself]  Good chat.

• Secret Service Agent #1 : It's not a clean site, but we made a buffer between POTUS and the RPs.

  Dontae Evans : RPs?

  Seth Wright : Uh, real people.

  Tom Kirkman : I'm not sure about this. What am I supposed to do, the speech?

  Seth Wright : Well, just, um... just feel it out when you get up there. Wing it.

  Tom Kirkman : Wing it? That's an interesting communications strategy, Seth.

• Tom Kirkman : You'd think I was Khrushchev at the UN, when the real story should be the Senate putting political expedience above doing anything virtuous. Hell, doing anything at all. Not to mention what nobody's mentioning, is that absolutely everything I said last night...

  [yelling at the TV] 

  Tom Kirkman : ...was the truth!

  Mars Harper : Maybe it's not what you said, Mr. President, so much as how you said it.

  Tom Kirkman : Oh, please. So I offended their delicate sensibilities? These sons of bitches are gonna use this to bring down the infrastructure bill, I know it.

  Mars Harper : Last check, OLA says that we've got the numbers to pass the bill.

  Tom Kirkman : Was that last check before last night? We need to get the vice president here. She has the ear of the Democratic caucus. We need her to start whipping support for the vote now.

• Tom Kirkman : Morning, Pen. Checked it all last night.

  Penny Kirkman : Thanks, dad.

  Tom Kirkman : You know, I was thinking... I'd like you to call me Mr. President like everybody else.

  Penny Kirkman : [sarcastic]  Ha, you're so funny.

• Tom Kirkman : I'm sorry I've been so busy. I would like you and I to have dinner tonight.

  Penny Kirkman : Oh, I can't. I have plans.

  Tom Kirkman : Plans?

  Penny Kirkman : Yeah. You're not the only one who's busy.

  Tom Kirkman : I've got an event in Iowa tomorrow.

  Penny Kirkman : The capital of Iowa is Des Moines.

  Tom Kirkman : Oh, yeah? What's the capital of South Dakota?

  Penny Kirkman : You tell me.

  Tom Kirkman : [feigning ignorance]  Bismarck.

  Penny Kirkman : That's North Dakota.

  Tom Kirkman : I know. I just wanna make sure you did.

• Tom Kirkman : How's the whip count?

  Mars Harper : Closer than we'd like.

  Tom Kirkman : Is this Darby? Are people getting cold feet because of her?

  Mars Harper : It's possible. We could go back to Haskell or Carlin, repack the suitcase with their pet projects.

  Tom Kirkman : There's too much pork in the bill as it is.

• Tom Kirkman : Emily, I didn't know you were coming in today.

  Mars Harper : Neither did I. Didn't see her name on the schedule.

  Seth Wright : Oh, uh, it was a last-minute addition.

• Mars Harper : Lorraine Zimmer's here.

  Tom Kirkman : Right. Bring me up to speed on what she's been doing since she got Moss elected president.

  Mars Harper : She started her own PR and crisis management firm. Mainly corporate clients. They just helped a new app go public, something called Enjoy My Wheels. They're disrupting the car rental biz the way Uber killed the taxi. Apparently, folks can just rent out their own cars. Stock's going through the roof.

• Lorraine Zimmer : The history of American presidential elections certainly has its conventional wisdoms.

  Tom Kirkman : An Independent candidate has never won.

  Lorraine Zimmer : Not since George Washington. And there's never been a third party incumbent, so I feel the same way about conventional wisdom as I do about conventionality.

  [she blows a raspberry, and Tom laughs] 

  Lorraine Zimmer : I mean, there's no certainties. There's only outcomes. But that being said, I do like to have as much information as possible at my disposal. So I had my girl do some quick polling, and I have never seen anything like it. You, Moss... 'cause, yeah, it's gonna be Moss. And a generic Democratic candidate. At this point, it is a virtual three-way dead heat. I mean, even Ross Perot only pulled 19% in '92.

  [impressed whistle] 

  Lorraine Zimmer : This is gonna be a fascinating election. I honestly cannot wait.

• Tom Kirkman : Well, I've heard great things about you, Lorraine, but you're even more impressive in person. We will be thrilled to welcome you aboard.

  Lorraine Zimmer : Oh. Mr. President, that's so very sweet of you, but I didn't say I was coming aboard.

  Tom Kirkman : I-I'm sorry, I thought by you coming here to the White House, that meant you were interested.

  Lorraine Zimmer : Yes, I wanted to meet you.

  Tom Kirkman : [realizing]  Moss. I've heard rumors that Moss is not happy with his current team.

  Lorraine Zimmer : The man's very rarely happy.

  Tom Kirkman : Are you joining his campaign?

  Lorraine Zimmer : He has asked, and I am considering it.

  Tom Kirkman : Do you mind if I asked why you're not interested in joining my campaign?

  Lorraine Zimmer : You've never run for office. You've never done retail politics. You've never campaigned. Mr. President, people like you and they like that you're Independent. They sure liked your wife, and they were sorry for you when she died. But aside from that, I don't know who you are. And I can't sell a product if I don't know the brand.

  Tom Kirkman : I understand. Thank you for your time.

• Tom Kirkman : Aaron, thank you for making us aware of the Puerto Rico issue. It could easily have been overlooked.

  Aaron Shore : Actually, sir, we may be overlooking something else. The industry on the island needs help, sure, but we could be doing more in the way of humanitarian aid for the local population. A little goes a long way there.

  Tom Kirkman : I'll talk to the sponsors, add some language to the rider.

  Aaron Shore : Thank you, sir.

  Emily Rhodes : Since when do you care about Puerto Rico?

  Aaron Shore : I care about all unincorporated U.S. territories.

  Emily Rhodes : Right. Isn't your new girlfriend Puerto Rican?

  Aaron Shore : Oh, you keeping tabs on me now?

  Tom Kirkman : Okay, enough, you two. As much as I enjoy this conviviality, I had an ulterior motive to bring you all here tonight.

• Tom Kirkman : I know that I surprised all of you with my announcement to run. And I'm sorry I didn't share that decision with you. But each one of you has been with me since the beginning of this ride, Emily even longer. And since Alex died, you've become the people I trust the most. So I need your opinion, your advice. This election, can I win it?

  Emily Rhodes : [simultaneously]  Yes.

  Aaron Shore : It's a wide-open race.

  Tom Kirkman : Okay, okay. As well-intentioned as your bullshit responses are, come on, I need you to be honest. Tell me what you really think. Tell me the truth.

  Seth Wright : Uh, it's not impossible. But, uh, and this has nothing to do with you, I don't see a clear path forward for any Independent candidate. There are too many structural obstacles for you to circumvent, particularly without the support of a party organization. This is one of the reasons a lot of people are jumping ship. They're looking for their next jobs.

  Aaron Shore : As a member of the Republican Party, Moss will score conservatives and the older demographic, and those people vote. The Democratic nominee will take the progressives, and if it's Darby's, to be blunt, she'll pick up African-Americans, and, you gotta assume, other racial minorities. It's a tough needle to thread. And think of it this way. You could punch your ticket as the guy who put the coutry back on track after an historic tragedy. Posterity will remember you well. But if you run, and if you lose, if you come in third, that's your legacy.

  Tom Kirkman : Yeah. Emily, what do you think?

  Emily Rhodes : I think you can do it. But I think you're asking the wrong thing. "Can I win?" makes the question about you, when the question should be about the country. So it's not "can I win?", it's "Why am I running in the first place?". So why are you?

• Tom Kirkman : Remind me why I'm taking this trip to Iowa now.

  Mars Harper : Caucuses are big two-party platforms. It can't hurt to get there and steal some of their oxygen. Consider it a campaign-launcher.

  Tom Kirkman : And you don't think it's more important that I stay here and twist some arms?

  Mars Harper : We have twisted everything that is twistable. It's in God's hands now. I will let you know when the vote is in. In the meantime, stay part of the story.

• Seth Wright : The Senate voted on the infrastructure bill.

  Tom Kirkman : What's the tally?

  Seth Wright : Failed. 48-52.

  Tom Kirkman : Son of a bitch.

  Seth Wright : Also, sir, we got word that there may be a glitch at this event.

  Cornelius Moss : Mr. President!

  Seth Wright : Ugh, Moss.

  Tom Kirkman : Oh, great. I'll see you at the car.

• Cornelius Moss : So it was your plane that was holding us up. I should have known it. You know Lorraine Zimmer, of course.

  Tom Kirkman : Yes.

  Cornelius Moss : Lorraine has decided to rejoin my team.

  Lorraine Zimmer : If I can fit you into my schedule.

  Tom Kirkman : Congratulations to both of you.

  Cornelius Moss : Ah, campaigning, am I right? Then again, I don't suppose you'd really know about that, would you?

• Tom Kirkman : Seth, why am I staring at an empty room?

  Seth Wright : I think this is the glitch that I mentioned, sir. Let me find out more.

• Seth Wright : Hey, what's going on?

  Advance Team Supervisor : We're shrinking the room.

  Seth Wright : Yeah, I can see that. Why?

  Advance Team Supervisor : Because there's almost no one here.

  Seth Wright : Okay, and why is that?

  [returning to Kirkman] 

  Seth Wright : So, apparently, and this is unsubstantiated, but Moss' campaign robocalled all of our confirmed attendees telling them the event had been canceled. Hence, the meager turnout. We have a field team out to try to fill seats. Still want to go through with this?

  Tom Kirkman : Absolutely not. Buy their lunches. Fix this.

• Tom Kirkman : Thank you for letting me crash your party. I came here to Iowa to deliver a speech. And now that I'm standing here among you, it doesn't feel as relevant. Now, I don't know if you've heard, but I had my ass handed to me today. By the Senate. You see, we had a bill. A really, really good bill. A bill that was designed to help people like you, in places like this. To transform forgotten communities and turn them into revitalized ones. Communities of hope and industriousness. It was designed to help the people in North Carolina, who right now are suffering a loss that, unfortunately, I am far too familiar with. This bill would have helped them rebuild the failing infrastructure that surrounds them. But the Senate... the Senate killed it.

  Male Protestor : All they wanna do is tear things down!

  Tom Kirkman : It makes sense to be angry. Angry like all of you are. Hell, I am with you. But anger alone is no prescription. We need to figure out how to take that anger and turn it into action. So please tell me, how do we fix this?

  Female Protestor : It's unfixable!

  Tom Kirkman : Why do you say that, ma'am?

  Female Protestor : Because no one listens.

  Tom Kirkman : Okay. Okay, I understand that because I feel like that sometimes, and, hell, I'm the President of the United States. People have to listen to me. But I felt like that in the Capitol the other night. I felt like that today when the Senate voted down the bill. But if I'm gonna be honest, I think all of us might be a little guilty of not listening. Myself included. But I wanna do better. In fact, I promise you, I am going to do better. So, ma'am, here I am. Standing right in front of you. What do you want me to hear?

  Female Protestor : When the shop closed, I tried to find other work, but there's nothing.

  Tom Kirkman : [his voice fades as he talks]  These are the kinds of things that we're not addressing. Party politics are interfering with your neighborhood...

  Seth Wright : I love this job.

• Seth Wright : At the risk of repeating myself, sir, you were amazing back there.

  Tom Kirkman : Come on, Seth, it was your idea. Give credit where credit's due.

• Lorraine Zimmer : I have a really big ego, so I can confess when I am wrong. Washington is an echo chamber. Time to time, I forget that. I think that what we're saying to each other is the same thing that folks are saying out there amongst themselves. The media made your State of the Union out to be a self-inflicted wound. But they are wrong. What you did is really resonating with Jane and John Q public.

  Tom Kirkman : Aha. My devious plan is working.

  Lorraine Zimmer : Ooh, and the Tom Kirkman I saw today, with that common touch, that empathy... that Tom Kirkman might make a pretty decent campaigner after all.

  Tom Kirkman : So am I to understand you're no longer working with Moss? Helping him with his dirty tricks?

  Lorraine Zimmer : He doesn't need my help with that.

  Tom Kirkman : You know, this is a win-win for you. If I manage to get elected, you'll be credited with accomplishing something that no one has ever accomplished. And if I lose, well, it'll be known as unwinnable fight.

  Lorraine Zimmer : I don't believe there's such a thing as an unwinnable fight. It all depends on what you are willing to do to come out on top. So, there are four things that I'm gonna need from you. Number one: unrestricted access. I need you, I get you. Number two: I need the authority to hire and fire all campaign staff. Their job is to get you elected, but they work for me. And number three: I need you to make fundraising a priority.

  Tom Kirkman : And number four?

  Lorraine Zimmer : Fuck me, I forgot what number four is.

  [he laughs] 

  Lorraine Zimmer : But I reserve the right to come back to it in the future. Okay, you're sitting down. You wanna discuss my salary?

• Mars Harper : Congratulations on Iowa, sir. You took a chance there.

  Tom Kirkman : And we'll be taking a lot more. Oh, and by the way, Lorraine Zimmer decided to join our campaign.

  Mars Harper : Well, you made the most of a tough day.

  Tom Kirkman : We're not done yet. I wanna go around the Congress. I want you to start spitballing an executive action on infrastructure. Reach out to the National Economic Council, put Legal and DPC together. Let's start hammering this out.

  Mars Harper : Uh, will do. You heading up to the residence?

  Tom Kirkman : One more stop. Mars, go home. I'm starting to worry that your wife won't remember what you look like.

• Tom Kirkman : I came here because I wanted to tell you that in the months since you've been gone, something's been off. With me. My compass has been off. And I would like you to come back to the White House. Emily, I need you to keep me honest.

  Emily Rhodes : The question I asked you at dinner, do you know the answer?

  Tom Kirkman : I think so. I thought a lot about what you said. And I think you're right. I started taking things too personally. This is not about me, this is about them. I serve the American people, even if Congress won't. Emily, we have an historic opportunity here. I'm beholden to no one; not to any party. We can do things they can't. So, what do you think?

  Emily Rhodes : I serve at the pleasure of the president.

  Tom Kirkman : [amused snicker]  I hate it when people say that.

• Penny Kirkman : I missed you today.

  Tom Kirkman : I missed you, too.

  Penny Kirkman : And if you're gonna be gone more often, like you said...

  Tom Kirkman : Yeah?

  Penny Kirkman : I was wondering if I could get a dog.

  Tom Kirkman : I didn't realize you were such a good politician.

• Tom Kirkman : Has Mars spoken with your staff about the infrastructure vote tomorrow?

  Eleanor Darby : Uh, if he did, I hadn't heard.

• Eleanor Darby : I have decided to put my name in for the Democratic nomination.

  Tom Kirkman : Wow. I thought when we spoke about you taking this position, you said that you didn't wanna be president.

  Eleanor Darby : I didn't know you wanted to run. You didn't consult me before you made your announcement. You didn't consult with anyone.

  Tom Kirkman : I'm sorry, I didn't realize my decision to run had to be cleared by you.

  Eleanor Darby : It's not just that. My office provided a variety of perfectly viable policy advisements for the State of the Union. You didn't listen to a one of them.

  Tom Kirkman : So now you're running out of petulance?

  Eleanor Darby : No, sir. I am running because it is becoming clear that you and I have different visions for the future of this country. You would be better served by a vice president who can toe the line.

  Tom Kirkman : You know what? I'm not gonna argue with you. Fine. Stay for the vote, and then you're free to go off and share your vision with the rest of America.

  [she sighs] 

  Tom Kirkman : But you're not gonna do that, are you? You won't let me have this win, even though you know it's the right thing for the country. So you think I'm illegitimate, too.

  Eleanor Darby : I am sorry, Mr. President.

  Tom Kirkman : So am I. I'll accept your resignation. That's all.

• Tom Kirkman : So, weren't you supposed to be on your way to Des Moines?

  Lorraine Zimmer : I was, but Cornelius' beater of a plane had engine trouble. And while we were waiting on repairs, I was scrolling Twitter, like I do, and I came across a Periscope feed from a very lively Cedar Rapids mall. I just had to check it out for myself.

  Tom Kirkman : Can I offer you a drink?

  Lorraine Zimmer : No, thank you. Actually, I always bring my own. It's one of the perks of not flying commerical. Do you partake?

  Tom Kirkman : Tonight, why not?