President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state of their respective country.
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
The President was concerned about the possible actions of the USSR. Prisoner of War!
The President met with the Autobots to promote an alliance, but the talks were interrupted by the Insecticons. Plague of the Insecticons! He was also unaware of the Intelligence and Information Institute's Centurion project. In the National Interest
Cliff Dietz referenced ex-president Franklin D. Roosevelt while boring Spike. The Man in the Machine!
Years later, the next President asked G.B. Blackrock to have his Neo-Knights quell a Decepticon conflict. ...All This and Civil War 2
Marvel Generation 2 comic
In the mid-1990s, the current President was a Democrat. Terrorist mad scientists aren't fans of Democrats. Goin' South
During the Decepticon onslaught on America, the President was not seen. Rumours abounded that he was hiding in a bunker and refusing to come out. The Gathering Darkness
The Transformers cartoon
A memorial to deceased President Abraham Lincoln exists in Washington, D.C.: a statue of him sitting on a large stone seat. Megatron once took out the statue so he could sit there, but the Autobots put it back later. Atlantis, Arise!
Listen 'n Fun audiobooks continuity
The 40th President of the United States awarded Dr. Heath Blaisedale "The President's Award for Outstanding Scientific Breakthrough" for her work on the solar reactor. Sun Raid (Listen 'n Fun)
Listen 'n Play audiobooks continuity
As part of a plan to ransom abducted humans for fuel, Megatron ordered Soundwave to send a ransom message to the President. The Autobots foiled the plan before this could be done. Sun Raid (Listen 'n Play)
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
The President flew to the Pentagon, where he was greeted by "Defense Minister" Dawson. Dawson briefed him on the Decepticon assault on San Francisco, and suggested an air strike. But before a military solution could be devised, Dawson was informed that a nuclear launch had been authorized (by General Robert Hallo, unbeknownst to either man). The President tried to abort the launch, to no avail. During this crisis, he displayed a level of concern that could only be adequately portrayed by his unique command of facial expressions. Prime Directive #6
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers
Along with Joe Colton, John F. Kennedy created the Adventure Team in 1963. Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2
After Cobra had taken control of several Cybertronians and used them to terrorize the United Nations, G.I. Joe managed to pinpoint the location of Cobra Island. While the Autobots and Decepticons were fighting there, General Renegar convinced the president to launch a nuclear strike targeted the island, despite the president’s initial misgivings about the nuclear fallout that would result from the attack. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5
2005 IDW continuity
At some point during his tenure as Action Man, Mike Brogan saved the President from a duplicate. Mr Love and Justice
After the Decepticons had established an infiltration team on Earth, Republican Senator Alexander Holt unwittingly talked to a facsimile construct of a politically powerful Army general near a statue of former President James A. Garfield about concerns that stability in the Middle East would cause problems for his Big Oil backers. The false general assured Holt that the military and the government were in the region for the long haul. This would presumably include the current President. Nine months later, shortly after Megatron took command of the infiltration team, the Decepticon leader sent Thundercracker and Skywarp to attack the El Jira nuclear power plant in the Middle East to inflame global tensions. By this time, Holt had become the favorite for the Republican presidential candidate and was recommending more direct intervention in the region. Escalation #2
Over a year later, during the full-scale Decepticon attack on the United States, the President requested Colonel Witwicky take command in New York City. All Hail Megatron #2 He then thought it was a good idea to get on Air Force One while flying robots were attacking; this caused his death after Starscream crashed the plane into the Lincoln Memorial. All Hail Megatron #3
Three years after the Decepticons were driven away, the new President, Browne, made a live address in response to North Korea using the Combaticons to attack South Korea. He announced that any nation using or allying themselves with Cybertronians would be considered by the United States to be in possession of weapons of mass destruction. This was a huge setback for Major Spike Witwicky, who had just organized an alliance between the Autobots and Skywatch, and was planning to use them to take care of the Combaticons. The Land Ironclads Skywatch went ahead with the mission regardless, and it all ended with the public learning that the US was secretly employing Autobots. The government had no idea how to spin the story, and within a week the President had made three official statements without actually explaining anything. All My Sins Remembered Criticism against the President's failing security measures grew as the Decepticons returned to Earth and a man was killed by Autobots in Albuquerque. Enemy Mine
Years later, the President was a black woman, one who openly condemned all Cybertronians. She liked Earth Defense Command director Marissa Faireborn and allowed the EDC to operate on U.S. soil, something that she knew would never have been done before the Transformers changed the rules. So she was left very unhappy after Optimus Prime declared Earth an Autobot protectorate and Faireborn didn't take the opportunity to shoot the guy. She chewed Faireborn out before making two big choices: allowing China's Mecha Force to operate in the US and pardoning the violent criminal Spike Witwicky before naming him her liaison to the EDC. Now it was all Earth versus the alien. New Worlds Order Said aliens began 'helping' globally, concerning her when that included stopping police aggression in Detroit, and a raid on their base turned up only a message that the Autobots were here to help. The President heard the EDC argue that maybe they should be open to the idea the Autobots were indeed trying to help, and said they need to find them as they wouldn't just show up on their doorsteps...
...when Aileron landed at the White House's doorsteps and demanded a surrender! A brief fight between Transformer and U.S. forces made it clear to the horrified President that the Autobots could very easily have killed everyone; Witwicky pointed out that Prime did not and this was a weakness to exploit. Edge of the Earth Following the reactivation of Metrotitan on Earth, Skywarp, Garrison Blackrock, Marissa Faireborn, and Ayana Jones teleported to the White House to discuss the next steps. The President wasn't impressed with Skywarp's insistence that the towering Titans were holy in Cybertronian culture, and insisted that her government was more interested in recovering concrete assets from a recent battle beneath the Indian Ocean. No Fair Fights
Several months later, "Joe Colton" called the President to discuss the threat of Ore-13 following a devastating explosion in Greece. Faced with the threat of destabilizing Ore-13 deposits, and the potential nuclear annihilation of Earth should those deposits destabilize, the President instructed Colton and his team of G.I. Joes to take the fight to Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Concorde Hymn
Mid-crisis and aware of a second alien infiltration, the President called in Faireborn to chew her out again for various failures and also to entrust a batch of Ore-13 to her. That's when those aliens, the Dire Wraiths, revealed they had infiltrated the White House too. To the President's shock, Faireborn swiftly butchered the aliens. The two women fled the attackers and Faireborn and her pal Thundercracker kept the President safe, which in practical terms meant she was being guarded by a freak of science, a hovering drone, and puppypuppy. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World
When Optimus again showed up without permission for a chat, the Prez (backed up by G.I. Joe Wolverines) berated him for doing this, for continuing to push for Earth to organise for Council of Worlds membership on an unrealistic timescale, and for assuming she, as leader of one nation, had more global say than she really did. Optimus kept making his case to her and when an alien spacecraft showed up, showed he'd got half of what she said when he asked her permission to... go to the Alps which aren't in the U.S. To Walk Among the Chosen
At Optimus's request, the President later gathered other leaders (from Britain and China) at Autobot City to negotiate a peace with the Junkions. Then Sharkticons invaded. Dance Among the Shadows When a fellow president thought this an intentional betrayal, the President disagreed stating the Cybertronians were simply terrible house guests. Aileron then ferried her and several other presidents to safety. Future Glories Lost On the ground, the President was informed by G.I. Joe that reinforcements were on the way but that the Sharkticons were all converging on the Matterhorn. Suddenly the fighting stopped and Marissa Faireborn arrived to propose a solution to the Junkion dilemma. Feel Safe Without Regrets At the request of the Security Council, the President arranged for G.I. Joe to arrest Jazz during his television interview. The Life of Sideswipe
She later met with Optimus to discuss the Autobots' PR and Jazz's upcoming television interview. The Next Day, and the Next Before departing, she advised Optimus to take himself off the radar after Jazz's interview. Optimus not only took her advice and returned to Cybertron, but saw through her words and sent a message to Jazz to flee from the G.I. Joe trap he was walking into. What It's Really Like Now being owed a favour by the Security Council, the President complimented Marissa's progress on Little Cybertron and asked if she'd ever thought about travelling abroad. The Life of Sideswipe Her request of making Marissa Earth's ambassador on the Council of Worlds was approved by the Security Council and the President called Optimus and Starscream to inform them of this development. Origin Myths
After a tumultuous start to Earth being a cosmic power, the President was present at the opening of an Ore-13 mine in Kentucky. Surfeit of Primes
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
After the United Nations tried to take security of the world out of G.I. Joe's hands and turn it over to "independent contractor" GIJONIN, Expelled from the Garden General Flagg initiated a military coup, telling the president he could "take a well-earned vacation" because "Joe's got it from here." Pax Megatronus
After the Decepticons and Cobra had been defeated, Flagg was sentenced to death by hanging for his war crimes only to be spared at the last moment via Presidential-pardon. The War Never Ends
Cybertron cartoon
President Gabriella Constanza knew about Colonel Franklin's investigation of the Transformers, and didn't believe it was a sensible project. Family Alexis Thi Dang served as her Secretary of State. Ask Vector Prime
She was still a "new President" during the summer, and made confusing promises at the United Nations. She was well known for speaking in incomprehensible jargon. Shortly before the cave-in at Mount McDermott, Reverb was pulled over by the police, but Jolt remotely generated a hologram of the President to disguise Reverb's underage driver, with Six-Speed's driver similarly being masked by her Vice President. Naturally, seeing the leader of the free world at the wheel of a tiny blue pickup truck totally freaked the cops out, and the Mini-Cons were able to drive off in the confusion. Collapse
After the Transformers were revealed to Earth, the President admitted to Franklin that she was wrong for doubting his project. Family
Much later, the President officially named Franklin as Earth's ambassador to Cybertron. Beginning
Animated continuity family
The AllSpark Almanac
The multiversal news source ALTernity Today reported that the very same Alexis won the Whig Party primary for President. She ran on a platform for a stronger alliance between Earth and Cybertron.
A Burger Bot placemat focused on presidential history. By the 22nd century, Mount Rushmore has added Nixon and Cobra Commander to its ranks. It also features the following presidents, and their accomplishments:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, who led the country to victory during World War II.
- Walter Barnett, who articulated The Barnett Doctrine of open borders.
- Elaine Nakamura, the nation's first female president.
- Tommy Kennedy, who established the first colony on Mars.
- James K. Polk, who brought Texas and California into the union.
- Howard J. Nissen, who saved the rainforests.
- Edward Augutter, a president-elect who drove off the Inhumanoid menace.
- Benito Caruso, who restored diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the United States.
- John Keller, who solved world hunger through the Los Bogos Project.
Time-Quake
While traveling through history, Bulkhead and a human encountered Abraham Lincoln, shortly before he gave the Gettysburg Address. In 2012 they also encountered Gabriella Constanza, then a teenager, who was destined to become president. She would be the 47th person and first woman to hold that title. Bulkhead saved her from being run over by a bus. Time-Quake
Live-action film series
Movies
Transformers film
President Herbert Hoover established Sector Seven in 1927, and had Hoover Dam built around the AllSpark. (See Notes)
The President in 2007 seemed almost insignificant during most of the Decepticon-caused military chaos, with Secretary of Defense John Keller pretty much running the show. Mostly, he wore red socks, had a penchant for Ding Dongs and spoke with a cheesy southwestern accent and stereotypical dialect ("Can you wrangle me up some Ding Dongs, darlin'?"). He also seemed unconcerned with tiny, crazy robots hacking into the computers of his ride—that is, until he's thrown in a bunker somewhere after the resulting emergency landing.
The United States military began approaching potential conflict with Russia and China when Sector Seven realised it was the Transformers. The President ordered Tom Banachek to the Pentagon to inform Keller about the Transformers' existence.
He ordered Sector 7 to be terminated and the remains of the dead Decepticons disposed of into the Laurentian Abyss. Transformers
Revenge of the Fallen film
NEST was formed sometime in 2007 or 2008, under the last President. However, the Autobot transmission into space to summon reinforcements was not vetted by the President or any of his staff, only by NEST's Major Lennox.
Poor old President Obama; while running for office, he was asked about his policy on alien life and responded with a joke The Real Effing Deal... and then found himself a newly elected leader during an Autobot-Decepticon war! He appointed Theodore Galloway as his National Security Advisor.
Concerns with the growing casualties caused him to send Galloway to investigate NEST and the Autobots, and when they escalated further he shut down NEST. Following Operation: Firestorm however, he reactivated NEST Revenge of the Fallen and afterwards took a more supportive role, even authorising airstrikes on US soil. Tales of the Fallen issue 5
Dark of the Moon film
Kennedy initiated the race to the Ark on the moon, which Richard Nixon saw to completion.
Decades later, Obama awarded Sam Witwicky a medal for saving the world twice.
A memorial to deceased President Abraham Lincoln exists in Washington, D.C.: a statue of him sitting on a large stone seat. After Sentinel Prime betrayed the Autobots, Megatron arrived in Washington, D.C. and saw the Abraham Lincoln Memorial as a fitting new throne for him. He blasted the statue to bits with his fusion shotgun, and Igor promptly chewed on the statue's head. Dark of the Moon
Age of Extinction film
Despite the massive loss of life in the Battle of Chicago and the general public's fear of Transformers, the President was grateful for the Autobots' part in the victory, and granted them asylum in return for their service, though they were free to aid in the hunt for the surviving Decepticons with CIA agent Harold Attinger and his Cemetery Wind unit. However, the President was not informed of the terrible truth that Attinger was hunting down all Transformers regardless of faction, and was kept in the dark for five years. His newly appointed Chief of Staff was surprised to learn that Attinger was not on friendly terms with Optimus Prime, denying the President's request for a photo op with the Autobot leader. When Lockdown, a secret ally of Attinger's, parked his ship in the skies over Chicago in broad daylight, the President demanded an explanation from the Chief of Staff and by extension Attinger, who simply assured his commander-in-chief it was not the advent of another invasion. Age of Extinction
The Last Knight film
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt were members of the Order of the Witwiccans. The incumbent president was ushered to a secure bunker in the wake of Cybertron's arrival to Earth, much to the frustration of the British Prime Minister. The Last Knight
Titan movie comic
In a divergent timeline, the Decepticons succeeded at Mission City and conquered the United States. Following Decepticon occupation, the President was dead and John Keller was nowhere to be found. The hawkish Vice President, Theodore F. Allen, became the new President following the liberation of America. Allen distrusts both Autobot and Decepticon, viewing them both as hostile alien invaders using Earth as a battleground for their war, so it would probably piss him off considerably to know Starscream's Insecticons have planted a mind-controlling cerebro-strip in his head. Aftermath Part 1 Aftermath Part 2
While he was allowed to act autonomously during Earth's technorganic crisis Dark Spark Return To Cybertron, Part: 1, Starscream eventually trigged him. One of his last acts was to get the US government to order the Autobots off American soil - and then nuke their ship as they left. Revolution Part 1 He was then used to impair America's response to Decepticon takeover. Revolution Part 2
He is still President in 2009, after his inherited term had run out, implying he'd won the 2008 election. Revolution Part 1
IDW movie comics
In 1898, Theodore Joseph Wells and Walter Simmons were dispatched to investigate Archibald Witwicky's claims by order of President McKinley. His government's House Committee on Military Affairs would finance and back the early Sector Seven. Original
Wells would carry out mysterious missions for the President. This may have included missions for President Wilson, almost certainly President Taft, and a known 1900 mission for McKinley again. Irreplaceable
Future President Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou would be stranded in China during the Boxer Rebellion, and used a radio to transmit information on Boxer troop movement to American forces; it was here they met Wells of the future Sector Seven. As an expert on mining, Hoover was secretly tasked by Sector Seven to secretly divert the Colorado River so they could excavate "the Cube"; Lou, as a metallurgist, was hired as a Sector Seven employee. Both of them encountered Jetfire and helped stop him, and several AllSpark Mutations. Irreplaceable
During his political career, Hoover made it a key priority to construct a permanent base in Colorado where Sector Seven could keep the Cube. That's why they eventually called it Hoover Dam! Field Notes from John Barber #2
Shattered Glass
The President of the United States was President Colton. Colton was strong on national defense and didn't care much about how the rest of the world thought. He didn't appreciate the Autobots taking control of his defense satellite, or the Decepticons destroying it. Eye in the Sky
Aligned continuity family
Titan Prime comic
The President was relaxing on Air Force One when a Secret Service dude passed on a message from the First Gentleman, Jerry, asking if she wanted meatloaf or roast chicken for dinner. She was just opting for pizza when the plane was suddenly attacked and everyone on it gassed into unconsciousness. The Decepticon Starscream took the plane to the Grand Canyon, where he intended to ransom it for Optimus Prime. When the Autobots turned up, Starscream attempted to use the President's unconscious body as a human shield, waving her around in his hand. Optimus quickly severed his arm, catching the President. She later woke up with a headache and joined the rest of the Air Force One crew in wondering how they'd gotten to the Grand Canyon. All the President's 'Bots!
Rescue Bots cartoon
The Hall of Inspiration in Griffin Rock had a hologram of former President Chester A. Arthur acting as its curator. Small Blessings
Ask Sideways
Sideways claimed he was the one who killed Kennedy. Ask Sideways, 2015/06/27
EarthSpark cartoon
According to Agent Croft, the President was planned to call in during the G.H.O.S.T.-Autobot Alliance ceremony to give a brief speech before introducing Optimus and Megatron. However, she never got the chance due to the ceremony being interrupted by Nova Storm and Skywarp. Age of Evolution, Part 1
Notes
- The President never appeared in the original animated series, but he did have a cameo in The Inhumanoids, one of Transformers "sister series" produced by Sunbow and confirmed by The AllSpark Almanac II to be set in the same continuity. Appearing only as a voice from offscreen speaking to his aides in "The Surma Plan" in 1986, the President was portrayed by voice actor Neil Ross, clearly doing an impression of then-president Ronald Reagan.
- IDW Optimus Prime's Holomatter avatar is modeled after Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of United States.[1]
- While unnamed, Marvel's presidents are clearly meant to be Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and were established as such in 2015's Ask Vector Prime; while IDW's Tales of the Fallen #5 shows the hand of a President who is clearly meant to be Barack Obama. Dreamwave's Prez doesn't appear to be meant as George W. Bush, but since this is Pat Lee drawing it could simply be a bad drawing of Dubya.
- "Irreplaceable" is the first Transformers story to have a real-life President, explicitly named as such, as a main character.
- The 2007 film refers to President Hoover forming Sector Seven in 1927, forgetting that President Coolidge was in charge at the time. IDW's Sector 7 miniseries jumped through hoops to have Hoover in a position to form S7 before he became the Prez.
References
External links
- Wikipedia page on the office of President of the United States
- Website of the current President of the United States
- President of the United States at the GoBots Wiki