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Season 1
Pilot
- Kirkman tells Seth that he's not a good president when the former asked him if he can make a good leader.
- Then telling him he has 52 minutes to write an address to the American public telling them why he is a good leader.
- Mike trolling Leo by saying they tracked him down via the NSA, when really they just pinged his phone.
- Kirkman tells his wife that he changed to a suit and tie and gave his hoodie to a White House staff member temporarily. The camera pans to the staff member wearing Kirkman's clothes.
- The sheer Black Comedy of this scene is glorious...Kirkman: "What's a designated survivor?" [Cuts to Kirkman staring awestruck from his secure haven as the Capitol building along with the majority of the US government is obliterated]
- Tom asks whether the Chairman of the International House of Pancakes is available when he's told that he's going to be sent to Montreal to the ICAO.
The First Day
- Kirkman brings in two lawyers from the Attorney General's office to advise him on how to deal with Governor Royce. They proceed to give him a string of conflicting suggestions.Kirkman: Guys, let me ask you a question: ...Can you agree on anything?
Lawyer 1: Yes.
Lawyer 2: (simultaneously) Not really.
Kirkman: ...Great. - Mike's suggestion that Kirkman could leave the White House to interact with the public by wearing a baseball cap and a jacket to make him inconspicuous. He does that by the end of the episode after the first visit to the bombed Capitol was botched.
- Kirkman shooting down Cochrane's insistent on launching an attack on Iran when the FBI could only provide a seventy-five percent certainty that they knew who the perpetrators were.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. (Storms out)Cochrane: How much more?Kirkman: TWENTY-FIVE, DAMN IT!
The Enemy
- The running joke of Aaron being obviously worried about Emily but denying it is a cross between funny and heartwarming.
- Kirkman asked Alex if she needs help with regards to Maria Serrano.Alex: I'm not sure that using executive privilege to do your wife a favor is exactly what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
The Results
- Seth continues to remain unfazed by the White House Press Corps even as they get restless over Kirkman's first press conference, which makes for some amusing repartee at times.Seth: Should just be a couple more minutes.Natalie: That's what you said 45 minutes ago.Seth: Yes, Natalie. I'll say it again in another 45 if he's not here.
Backfire
- Seth's encounter with his university friends.
One Hundred Days
- During Kirkman's preparation for the "Town Hall" meeting, Emily and Seth tell him to personalize his answers and not to ramble. Then, they throw an "Expect the Unexpected" question, with Seth playing a man saying his town has a porn addiction. Kirkman asks if he has to personalize that.
Lazarus
- A bit of Black Comedy when Abe gets punched just because Atwood told him not to talk about his late son.Abe: My bad.
Misalliance
- The Running Gag of Seth geeking out over going on Air Force One.
Bombshell
- Seth's excitement over going on Air Force One is quickly overshadowed by airsickness. Cornelius Moss "helps out" by taking a selfie with Seth — and promptly sends it to Emily Rhodes back at the White House, who ends up calling Seth about it later, to his immediate (and mocking) chagrin:Seth: ... We are not friends.
Season 2
One Year Later
- The introduction of Lyor.
Sting of the Tail
- The Running Gag of Seth's jokes being unfunny leading up to the White House Correspondent's Dinner.
Outbreak
- Lyor insulting the Kirkmans' tree frog... and promptly being screeched at. By the frog.
Equilibrium
- Lyor gets involved with a White House employee assessing the damage of a broken vase. When the employee informs him that it was at least more than $1 million, Lyor informs her that he'll settle for dinner to negotiate and he happens to be gluten free.
Suckers
- Wells tells Damian that she can call DHS to get him deported. She says that it's like Uber, except with the inclusion of handcuffs.
Family Ties
- Emily is having a problem dealing with Seth and Lyor, the former being scheduled to trial for taking a certain amount of medicine that is going near borderline illegal and the latter improperly declaring his taxes since he didn't live with his wife since they got married in a chapel in Vegas.
Three-Letter Day
- One of the letters the president got is from a man asking for help on his bees dying, which leads to an intervention with the FAA. It turns out the man's wife had been purposely killing his bees.
The Final Frontier
- Kirkman meets genius scientist Dr. Frost to help on a special mission. He talks to Lyor who seems to have a dim view of Frost because she passed over his Space Camp rocket for another student's which he claims was inferior. Lyor is getting wound up when he sees Kirkman just staring at him and realizes he's complaining to the President of the United States over something that happened to him in grade school and quickly shows himself out.
- He then asks Kendra if he can sue for "damages" and she has to calmly explain that going to Space Camp and not getting an award does not constitute "breach of contract."
- Lyor tells Frost that he "forgives her" for what happened. He walks off, completely failing to realize Frost has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.
In the Dark
- Lyor's "encounter" with the Japanese Finance Minister. Emily is the Only Sane Man in the meeting.
Summit
- Seth and Lyor are forced to share a room at Camp David. Seth is already annoyed when he sees Lyor putting on a massive mask for a breathing apparatus that lets out a groaning hum, a sleep mask and putting on yoga music with a booming narrator.
- And the next morning, Lyor complains about Seth talking in his sleep as "very annoying."
Season 3
#slipperyslope
- Aaron is placed on a list of "sexiest politicians' which includes some shots of him jogging shirtless. He tries to brush it off but when he comes back to his office, he discovers someone has plastered copies of the photos all over the walls.
- While it leads to a dramatic plot, there's also something funny when Kirkman meets with a rich Arab donor, poses with him and a fourteen year old girl...and then learns the girl isn't the man's daughter but his wife.
- Kirkman is also forced to admit they can't fire "the idiot who vetted him" as he made the exact same mistake Kirkman did of thinking they were father/daughter.
- Emily and Harper suggest Kirkman not make a huge deal of this and concentrate on his infrastructure bill.
Seth: "President welcomes pedophile to Oval Office" or "road construction." Which do you think the news is going to lead with? - Hannah's supervisor asks if she has a life outside of work.Hannah: I go to a dog park on the weekends.Dianne: Oh, you have a dog?Hannah: No.
- Hannah convinces her boss to let her go into operations because if she has to stay one more day in the office, she's going to kill her co-worker.
#privacyplease
- Lorraine is asking what color the Kirkman camp should show for the electoral map.Worker: Yellow?Lorraine: The color of cowardice and urine, don't think so.
- Made even funnier when they later decide on gold, which is basically yellow.
- Kirkman complains over having his transgender sister-in-law "dragged into" a huge political story.Seth: Let's avoid the word "drag."
- In a Leaning on the Fourth Wall moment, a woman hears Lorraine use the f-bomb and asks "are we allowed to swear like that?"
#makehistory
- Kirkman is briefed about a nationwide teachers strike ... while doing a Rubix Cube on the john.
