Character

Thompson

dismissive protective institutionally_defensive terse defensive confrontational procedural institutionally loyal

Thompson operates as a uniformed major who represents the military's defensive posture during Roosevelt Room deliberations. He delivers curt, protective assurances to Sam—'Sam, you take care of your guys; we'll take care of ours'—and signals that the services will manage their own personnel and exposures. Thompson privileges chain-of-command integrity and operational discretion, serving as a gatekeeper between White House staff and service leadership. His terse, institutional stance frames the services as autonomous actors reluctant to accept staff-led reforms or public-management intervention.

4 appearances

Also known as: MAJOR, Major (generic), Major Thompson, MAJOR THOMPSON

Thompson's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

4 moments

S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Slate Rebuked; 'Don't Ask' Reform Runs Into a Wall

Guarded and pragmatic — prioritizing institutional duties over rhetorical appeals.

Interrupts Toby with a procedural question about consequences, pressing the staff for practical implications and signaling institutional skepticism about the proposed recommendation.

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Roosevelt Room: Legal Roadblock

Pragmatic and slightly skeptical, focused on operational implications rather than ideology.

Major Thompson asks a pointed tactical question about the consequences of the White House recommendation, forcing Sam and Toby to concretely state expected outcomes and exposing weaknesses in their strategy.

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Sam's Evidence Meets Military Stonewalling; Fitzwallace Breaks the Room

Guarded and combative on the surface; orienting toward containment rather than moral inquiry.

Major Thompson speaks defensively, repeatedly interrupting Sam, asserting that many separations came from voluntary statements and trying to deflect blame from the services onto civilian staff.

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S1E19 · Let Bartlet Be Bartlet

Fitzwallace Calls the Question

Professional reserve masking irritation; steadied by rank but privately defensive.

Major Thompson stands at attention with the other officers, offers curt institutional lines about voluntary statements and unit responsibility, makes a brief defensive retort about whose personnel were affected, and …

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