The West Wing

Character

John Wilkes Booth

notorious violent fugitive reliable professional prioritized committed persistent strategic

John Hoynes holds the office of Vice President in President Bartlet's administration. Josh references Hoynes' sleeping bag in the Democratic cloakroom during a 50-50 foreign aid vote, signaling his practice of camping out to maintain presence and pressure senators. This tactic reveals Hoynes' hands-on approach to vote-whipping, prioritizing endurance and availability to lock in Democratic support amid procedural deadlines and quorum calls.

14 appearances

Also known as: Booth, Hoynes

John Wilkes …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

14 moments

S4E6 · Game On

Scissors, Superstition, and the Two‑Minute Warning

Calm and observant; quietly supportive.

Vice President Hoynes stands near Josh during the shuffle, offering a composed, stabilizing presence though he is not directly involved in the tie exchange.

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S4E6 · Game On

Cutting the Tie — Breaking the Spell

Calmly observant, offering steadiness in the crowd of flurried staff.

Vice President Hoynes stands near Josh and the group, physically present as quiet executive support while backstage rituals are disrupted and the President is hustled onstage.

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S4E6 · Game On

Abbey Cuts the Tie — Ritchie Sets the Frame

Calm and observant, providing a stabilizing presence amid the staff's flurry.

Standing next to Josh in the bustle; physically present as steady executive support but not operationally engaged in the tie replacement.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Triplehorn's Ultimatum in the Lobby

Absent but implied active ambition; perceived as opportunistic by others.

John Hoynes is only referenced by Triplehorn and Josh as the figure allegedly benefiting from precinct recruitment; he does not appear but his political ambitions and tactics drive the confrontation.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Accusation Sparks Political Liability

Implied ambition and forward motion; not present to display emotion but cast as a potential beneficiary of the accusation.

Mentioned as the Vice President whose precinct organizing is the subject of Triplehorn's accusation; he is discussed as both an ambition and an optics problem.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Gossip Becomes Strategy: Containing Hoynes' Surge

Portrayed as assertive and opportunistic—building infrastructure that others see as premature or threatening.

Mentioned as the subject of Triplehorn's accusation and the actor lining up precinct captains in Iowa and New Hampshire; not physically present but central to the strategic concern.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Six Hours Out — No Surgeon

Off-screen; not applicable to the immediate medical crisis.

Mentioned as the person Josh is meeting with; invoked as part of the political ecosystem framing the earlier patronage argument but not engaged in the medical emergency.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Delegation, Debt Jokes and a To Sir With Love Mic Drop

Not present; invoked as a standing institutional asset used for political optics.

The Vice President is referenced indirectly as the person the National Committee would ask to take 'our slot' at state party conventions; he is not present but his institutional role …

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Bedroom Banter Interrupted — Eisenmenger and the Unwilling Surgeon

Mentioned solely as historical fact; evokes shock and moral complexity when tied to Mudd's actions.

John Wilkes Booth is named as part of the Samuel Mudd example; his inclusion supplies the darker moral underside of the precedent Abbey invokes.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Ethics vs. Executive: The Surgeon Refuses

N/A — used only to contextualize Mudd's actions.

John Wilkes Booth is mentioned as part of Abbey's Samuel Mudd anecdote; his role is strictly referential to illustrate historical stakes.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Vacation Small Talk Turns Political Knife

Controlled and cool on the surface; privately defiant and resentful—using irony to reassert autonomy and puncture Josh's authority.

Hoynes guides Josh into his office, maintains a controlled, sardonic posture, trades banter, defends his private choices, and delivers the hurtful reveal about Hawaii while opening the door for Josh …

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Hoynes' Quiet Undercut

Coldbloodedly self-assured and mildly amused; uses understatement and a personal revelation to regain narrative control and unsettle Josh.

Hoynes leads Josh into his office, responds with measured sardonicism, reframes Josh's moralizing as zealotry, delivers a barbed compliment about Leo, and closes the encounter by revealing the Hawaii story …

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Bartlet's Stern Blessing

Not present; his political weight is felt by staff as a factor causing internal tension.

Mentioned as the vice-presidential candidate whose precinct captains are perceived to have been lined up; he is not physically present but is the focal political subject of the precinct controversy.

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S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Nightfall Decisions: Nominee, Missiles, and a Surgery Underway

Off-screen but implied to be advantage-seeking and positioned for gain.

Mentioned by implication as the beneficiary of precinct captain outreach; his campaign infrastructure is the political axis affected by the misread calls.

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Affiliation

University of California, San Diego