The Best and Worst TV Presidents of All Time, Ranked: ‘The West Wing,’ ‘Veep’ and More Shows

Jed Bartlet (‘The West Wing’)

Grade: A+

Martin Sheen said that The West Wing’s Commander in Chief, whose accomplishments included negotiating peace in the middle east, was initially based on “all the best parts” of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy.

“We didn’t call him a politician, he was a real public servant,” Martin said.

Elizabeth McCord (‘Madam Secretary’)

Grade: B

“I don’t want her to ever get so polished she resembles a lifetime politician,” Téa Leoni told Entertainment Weekly of playing Madam Secretary’s CIA operative-turned-president. “I’ve been using her lack of experience as a bonus; her deftness doesn’t come out of her experience.”

Elizabeth Keane (‘Homeland’)

Grade: C-

“It’s such an interesting thing being a woman in rooms of power,” Homeland’s Elizabeth Marvel told Y! Entertainment. “First of all, the rules are different for us. But if we’re in the room, then we’ve already won.”

Sadly, Keane would be forced to resign!

Fitzgerald ‘Fitz’ Grant III (‘Scandal’)

Grade: F

Scandal’s Fitz cheated, lied, blackmailed, tried to start a war and even killed a Supreme Court justice!

The judge “was going to bring down the entire house of cards,” Tony Goldwyn told Vanity Fair. “[I] could totally understand why Fitz did that … And that’s in addition to his hang-ups about his own father and stuff.”

Tom Kirkman (‘Designated Survivor’)

Grade: A

After accidentally becoming president on Designated Survivor, Kiefer Sutherland’s character rises to the challenge.

“If we can shine a light on how difficult the job is,” he says, “that we don’t need to be so divided … it might have some positive impact in our real lives.”

David Palmer (‘24’)

Grade: A

On 24, President Palmer made hard decisions with confidence and often helped foil terrorist plots.

“I wanted David to have a dignity, a love for the common man,” Dennis Haysbert told Cigar Aficionado. “Power was not what he wanted to exploit … he wanted to empower the people to control their own destiny.”

Mackenzie Allen (‘Commander in Chief’)

Grade: A-

“I have always been interested in roles that other women can identify with,” said Geena Davis to Today. On Commander in Chief, she juggled being a wife and mother of three with leading the free world.

Selina Meyer (‘Veep’)

Grade: D-

Veep’s mistress of mayhem lied, cheated and had goons kill her ex-husband.

“Her campaign slogan is ‘Continuity with change,’” Julia Louis-Dreyfus told ET, calling Selina the “bottom of the barrel” in presidents.