‘West Wing’ creator says show’s ‘reasonable’ Republican Party would seem ‘implausible’ today
Aaron Sorkin knows today’s Republican Party is nothing like the one in “The West Wing.”
Sorkin, who created early aughts political drama series, spoke at a Los Angeles event for his upcoming book on Saturday and addressed what he thinks the show would look like if made in the present day.
“What would be different would be this, and I don’t want to get a rumble started over anything. I’m afraid to say that right now — and maybe things will be different a year from now or two years from now, but right now — it would be implausible that the opposition party, that the Republican Party, was reasonable,” the 63-year-old TV writer said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“People would watch that and it would be unfamiliar to them as the country that they live in,” Sorkin added. “On the show, while the Republicans were the opposition, they were reasonable, the Republicans that they dealt with.”
“The West Wing,” which originally aired on NBC, followed the administration of fictitious Democratic President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen. Sorkin revealed if he thinks “The West Wing” would be successful if it came out amidst the current political landscape.
The show premiered in 1999 when Bill Clinton was president and concluded in 2006 during George W. Bush’s presidency.
Some of the show’s Republican characters were played by James Brolin, Matthew Perry, Jimmy Smits, Emily Procter, Hal Holbrook, John Goodman and Steven Culp.
Sorkin said that despite the stark changes in the Republican Party from then to now, he thinks the Emmy-winning series would still be successful in 2024.
“Honestly, I think it would for roughly the same reason it worked when it did, which is that, first of all, it was a good show, just good stories well told by a great group of people,” he said.
“But by and large, in popular culture, our leaders are portrayed either as Machiavellian or as dolts, right? It’s either a ‘House of Cards’ or ‘Veep,’ “ Sorkin continued. “The idea behind ‘The West Wing’ was what if they were as competent and as dedicated as the doctors and nurses on hospital shows, the cops on the cop shows, the lawyers on a legal drama, that kind of thing? And the result was something that was idealistic, and it was aspirational.”
As a lifelong Democrat, Sorkin has been a harsh critic of the current Republican Party led by former president Donald Trump.
Last month, before Joe Biden officially stepped down from the presidential race, Sorkin penned an essay in the New York Times calling on Democrats to nominate Republican Mitt Romney as their candidate.
“Nominating Mr. Romney would be putting our money where our mouth is: a clear and powerful demonstration that this election isn’t about what our elections are usually about, but about stopping a deranged man from taking power,” Sorkin touted in his op-ed.
Sorkin suggested that “Democrats nominating a Republican” could be the “healing event” everyone wanted after the assassination attempt against Trump, 78.
The famous screenwriter also noted the similarities between “The West Wing” and the state of the election at the time. He pointed out that President Bartlet runs for reelection in the series after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He compared that to Biden, 81, initially running for president again despite concerns about his age and mental acuity.
“What if Bartlet’s opponent had been a dangerous imbecile with an observable psychiatric disorder who related to his supporters on a fourth-grade level and treated the law as something for suckers and poor people? And was a hero to white supremacists?” Sorkin wrote, referring to Trump.
After Biden withdrew from the race, Sorkin took back his pro-Romney argument and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has since secured the Democratic nomination.
“I take it all back. Harris for America!” Sorkin wrote in an email to “The West Wing” star Joshua Malina, who shared it on X (formerly Twitter).
