The screenwriter behind “A Few Good Men” and “The American President,” as well as the creator of the much-lauded TV series “The West Wing,” Aaron Sorkin, despite having no experience in government or politics, has always claimed a sharp understanding of the behind-the-scenes machinations that keep the world spinning. In his most recent display of this keen awareness, Sorkin published an op-ed in The New York Times this morning, prior to President Biden announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, in which he told Democrats to nominate Republican Mitt Romney at their convention next month.
In the piece, Sorkin reflects on a season 3 plot of “The West Wing” in which fictional President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) decides to run for re-election despite recently announcing withholding his multiple sclerosis diagnosis from the electorate. Bartlet managed to prove his worthiness despite the illness and goes on to win a second term, but Sorkin suggests a shift in the narrative that spoke to the moment we were facing a mere few hours ago.
“What if, as a result of Bartlet revealing his illness, polling showed him losing to his likely opponent? And what if that opponent, rather than being simply unexceptional, had been a dump truck of ignorance and bad intentions?” Sorkin wrote for The New York Times. “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? We’d have had Bartlet drop out of the race and endorse whoever had the best chance of beating the guy.”
Sorkin followed this statement in his op-ed by pointing to Mitt Romney as the “best chance” candidate. He wrote, “Surely Mr. Romney, who doesn’t have to be introduced to voters, would peel off enough Republican votes to win, probably by a lot. The double haters would be turned into single haters and the Nikki Haley voters would have somewhere to go, Ms. Haley having disqualified herself when she endorsed the leader of an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government.”
The prolific screenwriter and director isn’t wrong about Haley voters currently feeling like they have nowhere to go come November, but he also offers no explanation for how progressives or even liberals would feel about supporting a man who is against abortion, raising the minimum wage, funding public education, and number of public policies geared towards protecting society’s most vulnerable. Thankfully, shortly after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, Sorkin, utilizing “West Wing” star Joshua Malina’s social media account, emphatically retracted the statement he’d made that morning.
In the post, Malina shared a screenshot of an email from Sorkin, which read, “I need to borrow your Twitter account again. I take it all back! Harris for America!”
Clearly the story of this 2024 presidential race is moving too fast for Sorkin and in directions not even he can write to.
