WASHINGTON (AP) — With the President Joe Biden Leaving the White House on Friday, another man with Oval Office experience stood in the Rose Garden and delivered an impassioned call to service.
Martin Sheen and other cast members “The White House” The cast of the hit drama about a liberal president and his staff was invited by the first lady. Jill Biden This is for an event commemorating the show’s 25th anniversary.
Sheen encouraged the crowd to find something worth fighting for, “something deeply personal and uncompromising, something that allows you to combine the will of the mind with the work of the body.”
His voice and hands rose, the rhythm perfectly matching that of President Jed Bartlet, the character Sheen played for seven seasons.
“When we find that, we will have found fire again, and we can help lift this country and all of its people to a place of fearless hearts and proud hearts,” Sheen said.
“The West Wing” remains a favorite of many, both liberals and conservatives, currently working in Washington. Among those spotted in the Rose Garden were House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and former Tea Party Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, who is now a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump and an advocate for Vice President Kamala Harris.
When asked about his favorite character, Walsh replied, “I like Martin Sheen because I want to be president one day.” (Walsh challenged Trump in the 2020 Republican primary but lost by a large margin.)
From the speeches and the party, it was clear that at least a few “West West” fans work at the White House.
As Biden and the cast exited, the Marine Corps Band played the opening rendition of the show’s theme song, a reference to the show’s tradition of having staff meet eccentric or unconventional characters, such as the “big block of cheese,” and a walk-and-talk line in which characters move at high speed down a hallway.
Waiters handed out bourbon and ginger ale cocktails called “The Jackal,” a reference to the lip-syncing routine performed by press secretary CJ Clegg in one famous episode.
Show creator Aaron Sorkin took the stage after Sheen and touched on a bit of real-world politics: Biden’s decision not to seek a second term in the wake of the debate debacle. Sorkin was one of several prominent Democrats to call for Biden’s withdrawal, writing a “script” in The New York Times in which Democrats would replace Biden with Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.
His column was published on July 21, hours before Biden announced his withdrawal.
“Indeed, moments like this one do happen,” Trump told the first lady on Friday. “Dr. Biden, we saw the evidence on the morning of July 21st.”
Sorkin also thanked the cast members in attendance, including Richard Schiff, who played PR chief Toby Ziegler, Janel Moloney, who played his assistant Donna Moss, and Dulé Hill, who played the president’s body man, Charlie Young.
He noted the absence of several other big-name actors who are on set, including Allison Janney, who plays Clegg, Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe.
“The rest of us are apparently unemployed,” he joked.
The crowd laughed, then a voice came from Sorkin’s right.
“Not yet!” Jill Biden said.
