Designated Survivor (TV Series)

The First Day (2016)

Kiefer Sutherland: Tom Kirkman

Photos 

Quotes 

• Mike Ritter : Phoenix is ready and on the move.

  Tom Kirkman : Mike, just out of curiosity, what was it before?

  Mike Ritter : Sir?

  Tom Kirkman : My code name when I was Secretary of HUD, what was it?

  Mike Ritter : "Glasses", sir.

• Seth Wright : Mr. President.

  Tom Kirkman : You don't need to get up every time I walk into a room. I'm not the Queen.

  Seth Wright : No, sir. Virtually no resemblance.

• Harris Cochrane : America is demanding action, and I am giving you an enemy we can kill.

  Tom Kirkman : You think I don't want to strike back against the people who did this? I lost colleagues, friends, people I love. I want to find every single person involved in this attack from planning to execution and rip them limb from limb, which is why I need to know exactly who did this. Come back to me with more than 75%, and I'll launch the damn missiles myself.

  Harris Cochrane : [Kirkman storms out]  How much more?

  Tom Kirkman : Twenty-five, damn it!

• Tom Kirkman : Yesterday, I was asked to resign, and we were talking about moving to Montreal. Now I'm trying to put the entire U.S. government back together and stop the country from tearing itself apart.

• Tom Kirkman : How you holding up?

  Alex Kirkman : I spoke to Duncan. The courts are closed.

  Tom Kirkman : Markets, banks, schools, airports, everything.

  Alex Kirkman : Half the junior associates in the firm, they're thinking of leaving Washington.

  Tom Kirkman : How's Penny? You think she even understands what's happening?

  Alex Kirkman : Besides the fact that we now live in the White House, her father is the president, and she's sleeping in a very big bed? No, not really. I've been trying to keep her away from the TV.

  Tom Kirkman : And Leo?

  Alex Kirkman : He's been in his room all day with the door shut.

  Tom Kirkman : So, basically being Leo.

  Alex Kirkman : Basically.

• Alex Kirkman : [arriving at the remains of the Capitol]  Are you ready for this?

  Tom Kirkman : How can anybody be ready for this?

• Harris Cochrane : Preliminary analysis from the FBI's Explosive Device Center tells us that residue found on the Capitol debris is consistent with bombs used by Al-Sakar in the past. Mr. President, it's time to publicly name Al-Sakar as the perpetrator of this crime and take appropriate action.

  Tom Kirkman : Okay. Before we do anything, the FBI is absolutely certain that Al-Sakar was behind the attack?

  Deputy Director of National Intelligence #1 : 75%, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : [incredulous]  75%?

  Harris Cochrane : That's as high as it gets when it comes to a call like this.

  Tom Kirkman : 75 is still a "C" on a test, general.

  Harris Cochrane : This is not a test. This is war.

  Tom Kirkman : All the more reason to get it right, don't you think?

• Kimble Hookstraten : Do you know what I did this morning, sir? I cried and then I prayed. Do you know when the last time I did those two things together was?

  Tom Kirkman : 9/11?

  Kimble Hookstraten : Nobody thought we could get through it back then, but we did. And nobody thinks we can get through it now, but we will. This is your house now. So make it your own.

• Tom Kirkman : [working in the Cabinet room after storming out of a briefing]  I just needed to find somewhere quiet.

  Aaron Shore : Yeah, admittedly, it got a little loud in there.

  Tom Kirkman : Loud? A Caps game is loud, Aaron. Back there in the Oval Office, that was chaos. We need order, a system, or this is never gonna work. We need to get this government up and running. We... we need a Cabinet, and fast.

  Aaron Shore : That's a good idea, sir, but first order of business is going to be naming your Chief of Staff.

  Emily Rhodes : Seriously? You're making a play right now?

  Tom Kirkman : [banging on the desk in anger]  Enough! I'm not ready to make that decision. What I *need* is both of you to step up and help me put together a Cabinet. Tell me you can do that.

• Tom Kirkman : My name is Tom Kirkman. Last night at approximately 10:30 p.m., I was sworn in as president of the United States. I've come down here because I wanted to thank each and every one of you for the work that you're doing here and let you know that America mourns. This... this was an act of madness. This was an act of terror. Yesterday, we saw the worst in humanity. Today, I see its best.

• Alex Kirkman : I hate this that they picked it out for me.

  [putting on a jacket] 

  Alex Kirkman : Look. I look like the White House sofa.

  Mike Ritter : [holding up a Kevlar vest]  It's to fit over this, ma'am.

  Tom Kirkman : Mike, is this all really necessary?

  Mike Ritter : Two ways the president and his family can leave the White House: out the front door in Kevlar vests and a thirteen car armed motorcade or out the back in a Chevy and a ball cap.

• Alex Kirkman : Light reading?

  Tom Kirkman : Well, sadly, it seems that Wikipedia is a little thin on constitutional law theory.

  Alex Kirkman : Well, did the lawyers not give you any answers about Michigan?

  Tom Kirkman : They gave me plenty of answers. They just weren't the right ones.

• Tom Kirkman : D.C. police called the White House switchboard, wanted to confirm that you worked here. What happened this morning?

  Seth Wright : What happened in Michigan. What always happens. When people don't know who their enemy is, they start with people who look like me.

• Aaron Shore : Sir, you should know that messages of support continue to pour in from heads of state around the world.

  Emily Rhodes : We should go over which calls you want to return personally.

  Tom Kirkman : I would think all of them. How many calls are we talking about?

  Aaron Shore : About 175, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Maybe we should prioritize.

• Alex Kirkman : Governor Royce said that? That he's the highest authority?

  Tom Kirkman : That's what he said, and in no uncertain terms. Then he hung the phone up on me.

  Alex Kirkman : Well, he doesn't get to do that. He has a constitutional obligation...

  Tom Kirkman : Don't you get it, Alex? Royce wants to tear up the Constitution, and he's not the only one.

  Alex Kirkman : Well, you can't let him.

  Tom Kirkman : Trust me, I'm not going to.

• Tom Kirkman : Governor Royce, how are you?

  Governor John Royce : Uh, about as expected. There's a lot to manage here, as you can imagine.

  Tom Kirkman : I know, and I want to help. I've seen reports that the police in Dearborn are rounding up members of the Muslim community.

  Governor John Royce : Yes, I'm aware.

  Tom Kirkman : Well, like I said, we'd like to help you stop the police.

  Governor John Royce : Why would I stop the police? They're acting on my orders.

  Tom Kirkman : Your orders?

  Governor John Royce : That's correct. I don't know if you know this, but I have the largest Muslim population in the country here.

  Tom Kirkman : That doesn't mean they're doing anything wrong or that they've been radicalized.

  Governor John Royce : No, but I'm willing to bet they know someone who is.

• Tom Kirkman : Governor, you can't target an innocent population because you're scared. You have a responsibility...

  Governor John Royce : To all my citizens. And my first and only priority is to make sure they're safe, something that Washington - if... if there even is such a place anymore - has proven incapable of doing.

  Tom Kirkman : Governor, the federal government is more than...

  Governor John Royce : Was effectively snuffed out last night. There is no Congress, there is no Supreme Court. When it comes to the people of Michigan, I am the highest authority, and you have none over me.

  Tom Kirkman : With all due respect, sir, I am the President.

  Governor John Royce : Not mine. So you'll have to excuse me, Mr. Kirkman; while you're busy learning how to become president, I've got ten million citizens to protect.

• Tom Kirkman : [at the remains of the Capitol]  Mike, take my coat.

  Mike Ritter : [Kirkman starts to remove his Kevlar vest]  Sir, I'm gonna need you to keep that vest on.

  Tom Kirkman : Mike, we're here to project confidence. Does this vest project confidence to you?