History Characters / IndependenceDay

* SkewedPriorities: He's more interested in playing politics than ''saving the human race from extermination''.

* EverybodyCallsHimBarkeep: OK, show of hands, who actually remembered that the character's ''name'' was not "Mr. President" without having to look it up?

* PresidentAction

* TheEternalChurchill: And ''how''. Right before the final battle, President Whitmore gives one of the most memorable speeches in movie history, a speech that seems to be deliberately designed to be similar to Churchill's refusal to surrender.

* WhatAnIdiot: OK, so you're the Secretary of Defense and an entire fleet of alien spaceships shows up and float ominously over the world's major cities. As the former head of the CIA (it's stated somewhere in the movie that Nimzicki was this), you became privy to the fact that Area 51 has indeed been housing a crashed flying saucer and alien corpses and been studying them and their tech for ''decades.'' Do you choose to immediately inform the President about everything the research had discovered in order to better inform his decision-making? Apparently not.

* TheCaptain: His title, obviously

* ColonelBadass

* JeffGoldblum

* PreAsskickingOneLiner: ''Welcome to Earth!!!'' *BAM!*

* BadassInCharge

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Justified, as Whitmore was apparently a fighter pilot in the Gulf War, and is still relatively young at the time of the invasion.
* BadassInCharge: Served during the Gulf War, a skill that comes in handy. Even without this skill, his personality is still pretty badass.
* BigGood
* ChekhovsSkill: See above: Whitmore's tour of duty as a fighter pilot in the Gulf War.
* TheEternalChurchill: And ''how''. Right before the final battle, President Whitmore gives one of the most memorable speeches in movie history, a speech that seems to be deliberately designed to be similar to Churchill's refusal to surrender.

!!Captain Steve Hiller (aka WillSmith)

!!Captain Steve Hiller(aka WillSmith)

* WhatAnIdiot: OK, so you're the Secretary of Defense and an entire fleet of alien spaceships shows up and float ominously over the world's major cities. As the former head of the CIA (it's stated somewhere in the movie that Nimzicki was this), you became privy to the fact that Area 51 has indeed been housing a crashed flying saucer and alien corpses and been studying them and their tech for ''decades.'' Do you choose to immediately inform the President about everything the research had discovered in order to better inform his decision-making? Apparently not.

* BadassPresident

Character sheet for IndependenceDay.

* TheFightingNarcissist: '''Jasmine:''' ''You are not as charming as you think you are.'' '''Steve:''' ''[[{{BadassBoast}} Yes I am.]]''

* BrilliantButLazy: He had the talent and knowledge base to becomes a wealthier engineer, but he was perfectly happy where he was.

* NumberTwo: To President Whitmore. At the beginning of the movie, he requests to stay at the White House alongside the President (it turns out to be lucky. The rest of American generals were apparently killed by the aliens after they evacuated to NORAD). Throughout the movie, Grey is unfailingly loyal to Whitmore and [[{{EpilepticTrees}} might be either the new Secretary of Defense or even the new Vice President at the end]], given the fact that the former VP is dead and the former Secretary of Defense was unceremoniously fired.

* CoolOldGuy: Gets some of the best lines of the movie, isn't afraid to shout down the freaking President and his staff [[{{PapaWolf}} when he feels that they're being disrespectful and ungrateful to his son]], and in general seemed like a character who it'd be pretty fun to be around.
* PapaWolf: Memorably, he shouts down the country's leaders when they disrespect his son aboard AirForceOne.

* BadassMilitary

* SemperFi: A Marine F-18 pilot

* BrilliantButLazy

* ColonalBadass

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold

* PluckyComicRelief

* RightHandMan: To President Whitmore. At the beginning of the movie, he requests to stay at the White House alongside the President (it turns out to be lucky. The rest of American generals were apparently killed by the aliens after they evacuated to NORAD). Throughout the movie, Grey is unfailingly loyal to Whitmore and [[{{EpilepticTrees}} might be either the new Secretary of Defense or even the new Vice President at the end]], given the fact that the former VP is dead and the former Secretary of Defense was unceremoniously fired.