Aaron Sorkin knows that today’s Republican Party is very different from the Republican Party in “The West Wing.”
Sorkin, who created the ’90s political drama series, was speaking at an event for his upcoming book in Los Angeles on Saturday and talked about what the show would be like if it were made in modern times.
“The difference is this: I don’t want to stir up any fuss. I’m afraid to say this now, but in a year or two things may be different, but at the moment it’s impossible for the opposition, the Republicans, to be rational,” said the 63-year-old TV writer. The Hollywood Reporter.
“People will watch it and feel like the country they live in is foreign to them,” Sorkin added. “On the show, the Republicans were the opposition, but the Republicans they were dealing with were rational.”
NBC’s “The West Wing” follows the administration of fictional Democratic President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, and Sorkin revealed whether he thought “The West Wing” would be successful if it aired in the current political climate.
The show first aired in 1999 during the presidency of Bill Clinton and ended in 2006 during the presidency of George W. Bush.
Some of the show’s Republican characters were played by James Brolin, Matthew Perry, Emily Prosser, Hal Holbrook, John Goodman, and Steven Culp.
Sorkin said he thinks the Emmy-winning series will still be successful in 2024, despite major changes in the Republican Party from then to now.
“To be honest with you, I think it’ll be successful for much the same reasons it was successful back then: First of all, it was a good show and a good story well told by great people,” he said.
“But in popular culture, our leaders are portrayed as either Machiavellians or fools, right? It’s either that or ‘House of Cards.’ or “Veep,” Sorkin continued, “was the idea behind The West Wing. “I thought, what if I was as competent and dedicated as the doctors and nurses in hospital dramas, the police officers in crime dramas and the lawyers in courtroom dramas? And the result is idealistic and aspirational.”
A lifelong Democrat, Sorkin has been a harsh critic of the current Republican Party, led by former President Donald Trump.
Last month, before Joe Biden formally dropped out of the presidential race, Sorkin The New York Times He called on Democrats to nominate Republican Mitt Romney as their candidate.
“Nominating Romney would put our money where our mouth is and send a clear and powerful signal that this election is not about what our elections normally are, but about preventing a crazy man from gaining power,” Sorkin wrote in the op-ed.
Sorkin suggested that “a Democrat nominating a Republican” could be the “healing event” everyone was hoping for after the assassination attempt on the 78-year-old Trump.
The famed screenwriter also drew parallels between “The West Wing” and the election situation at the time, pointing out that in the series, President Bartlet seeks reelection after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which he compared to 81-year-old Biden running for president again despite initial concerns about his age and mental health.
“What if Bartlet’s opponent had been a dangerous moron with pronounced mental disability, who interacted with his supporters at a fourth-grade level and treated the law as something for idiots and the poor? And a hero to white supremacists?” Sorkin wrote, referring to Trump.
After Biden dropped out of the race, Sorkin retracted his support for Romney and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has secured the Democratic nomination.
“I take it all back. Harris for America!” Sorkin Wrote in an email “The West Wing” star Joshua Malina shared this on X (formerly Twitter).
