C.J.’s Secret Service Comes With a Promotion | The West Wing

[@italianviking80]

At least Toby didn't announce a secret plan to fight inflation.

[@johnathonwaggoner358]

Oh I think Toby has never let that down ever, if not just him, then everyone

[@MatthewKearney69]

👍We remember that.. Josh did the briefing because cj had a woot canal ..😪😪😂

[@jeffgachihi8225]

And then not support the made up secret plan.

[@aigtrader2984]

@@MatthewKearney69 had what?

[@MatthewKearney69]

@@aigtrader2984 😂root canaw 👍

[@bmw128racer]

"C.J Cregg can swat at suicide bombers with her purse." 🤣🤣🤣

[@mechanicaldavid4827]

To be fair - Nobody expects or trains for a counterattack by assailants armed with purses.

[@robotsongs]

Seeing Josh 🏃‍♂️🌬️ through the office after that always gives me the greatest belly laugh

[@AustinB96]

Funny as hell😂

[@me.lms1126]

@@mechanicaldavid4827 Apparently CJ does...

[@dougbrown9574]

Whoever on the writing staff came up with that line is pure. Fricking. Genius !!!!

[@deltabilly1]

I love the press’ reaction to CJ’s promotion

[@nexigram]

Toby doing the press briefings was always the best meme on the West Wing. 😂

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Sam, I mean Josh, doing it once!

[@Serin9X]

"Do you have a basement?" -- Secret Service guy while walking in to what is CLEARLY an apartment

[@TheAtkey]

I guess the apartment building could have a basement.

[@AbsurdlyGeeky]

Given that the military advisor displayed a very dry sense of humor about the situation seconda prior, one could comfortably assume it's a joke.

[@howardtreesong4860]

An apartment could have a space serving as a basement. I would expect anyone who was going to be on the security detail of the white house chief of staff to be aware of the floorplan of their living arrangement, that would be a first important thing to know and keep into account.

[@EtoileLion]

Moreso the absurdity of the Secret Service asking this 30 seconds after the Evacuation Specialist has just given her a rundown of the knowledge they have of which way she *leaves her apartment in the morning*, including a blueprint of the apartment building. Sure, they know which way she leaves, which way is faster to her parking, her exact evacuation path and timing, but no clue if the building has a basement. Right.

[@dijoxx]

Apartments can have basements too. Mine does.

[@geoffrose9647]

"What kind of situation?" "A nuclear attack." "Are we expecting one?" "Well ANY attack, but nuclear's gonna top the list." The man ain't wrong.

[@n0t10c]

One of my favorite moments with CJ as the COS is when everyone gives her a letter of resignation

[@davidshi451]

Lol I love seeing CJ dodge Jed putting his jacket on

[@AjeethRajesh]

Leo never had to do that because he's half her size

[@BradyKaynee]

and that wasn't scripted or staged.

[@scottwilliams5600]

Also her actively dressing and covering herself to the complete indifference of the Agents and Marines. “We couldn’t care less what you have on; you need to pay attention to this briefing.” 😂

[@GinaSanchez_]

"can we discuss this?" "Not really" 😂😂😂

[@jaywinkleman6413]

These comments about the absurdity of the White House Press Secretary becoming Chief of Staff are dumb and miss the point. The Chief of Staff's job is depicted for SEASONS as being a coordinator of information and policy execution - handing jobs off to the appropriate staff and keeping items from or at the highest office until they're ready to move. CJ demonstrates an aptitude for this consistently, more than Josh or Toby or Will or anyone else. Thats why she gets appointed. You have to ignore consistent character development to argue it doesn't make sense.

[@derrickstorm6976]

It makes me so sad seeing so many dumb people liking this fantastic show

[@brachiator1]

Great points. The position of White House Chief of Staff did not formally exist until the Truman administration, and the people appointed to the office have had varied backgrounds and skill sets.

[@kelli217]

You'd think Josh would step in and step up, considering he's Deputy Chief of Staff. But it didn't work out that way.

[@untexan]

They’re called trolls, Jay

[@aph1976]

@@kelli217 Maybe Leo knew Josh could never be President Bartlett's COS because the COS has to give advice to the president and maybe Leo was worried that Josh would try to act like him and not be his own person.

[@jeffgachihi8225]

You left out the EPIC Josh slide to find Toby after ( _Josh, of course not having personal experience of a catastrophic press briefing_ ). 🤣🤣🤣

[@MatthewKearney69]

Josh says President is a non smoker.. reporter tells josh the president got a cigarette from her on Air Force one 😂😂

[@reynaldkurniawan9424]

3:42 that smirk of hers… she’s basically saying “You didn’t see that one coming, didn’t you?” to the press pool

[@annemacleod1421]

Funny how you can still emotion about this announcement start of September 2024! CJ bring promoted, Toby making me laugh out loud!! Loved this show. Probably time to binge it again! 🐑🐑🇳🇿🇳🇿NZ

[@flamingmonkeyxii]

Leo's heart attack was the WORST. FORESHADOWING. EVER.

[@UnfrozenCavemanTrader]

"You got a basement or a spare room or something" - Meanwhile the agent knocked on her APARTMENT door that clearly had the number 201 on it,lol.

[@SRX2004]

Toby should have taken a valium before standing at the podium .

[@TheAtkey]

CJ was good choice for Chief of Staff, Toby is a terrible choice for Press Secratary the man couldn't go 10 minutes without blowing his top.

[@bored1ca]

Toby...Toby...Toby... tsk tsk tsk!! LMAO! If anyone's getting swatted with CJ's purse, it's gonna be Toby!

[@av8r500]

actually I'm thinking SO FAR up your ass!!!!!!!

[@michaeloconnor5904]

Toby's a nice name, don't you think?

[@ktwashere5637]

I love how much respect they have for her.

[@potterpotty01]

i love the way Josh runs to 'comfort' his friend after a trying time with the white house press corps.😂 at least toby didn't come up with a secret plan to fight inflation. seriously is the job of Press Secretary really that hard?

[@prismaticmarcus]

any job where you're not sllowed to say what you think, or what you know, is hard.

[@toobin8r]

You gotta have the right kind of temperament to handle constant questions from a room full of people, be aware of the words coming out of your mouth and how you’re saying them, be knowledgeable about a lot of things you might not have notes on in the moment, and you gotta be able to do all that quickly and efficiently. It’s not the kind of job anyone can do well, though most people can do some of it. There’s probably a compilation or two on here somewhere of White House Press Conference gaffs and fails to illustrate

[@onothankyou]

PotterPotty, PotterPotty, are you saying you DON'T have a secret plan to fight inflation? PotterPotty, PotterPotty, are you saying that fighting inflation isn't important? PotterPotty, PotterPotty, are you saying that you don't have a plan for the economy at all? How hard is the job?

[@ladyethyme]

Couldn't agree more

[@ScorpiusZA.]

Tell me about it. Josh understands what Toby is about to go through

[@RobertKhoe]

I really need to dust off my DVD player and watch this series again.

[@KLowe-of5yz]

I was thinking the same thing. LOL Only I have to buy the series ~ when I got hooked, it was still streaming on various channels. :)

[@BPhillips2000]

@@KLowe-of5yz It's on Max (formerly HBO Max) FYI.

[@estel-randir]

People beef on the last few seasons, and rightfully so, but CJ as COS was a damn good call.

[@andrewgundy3045]

I actually really enjoy the last few seasons still aside from how they did Toby. That was weak. I really enjoyed the santos/lyman combo

[@WoefulMinion]

Reminds me of Jed's description of the position. Bartlet: "You have a best friend?" Roger: "Yes, sir." Bartlet: "Is he smarter than you?" Roger: "Yes, sir." Bartlet: "Would you trust him with your life?" Roger: "Yes, sir." Bartlet: "That's your chief of staff."

[@mark-ish]

​@WoefulMinion sounds exactly same as to explaining your four legged friend.

[@WoefulMinion]

@@mark-ish Sometimes I wonder whether that would be a better choice for chief of staff....

[@votemonty1815]

HER PURSE!!! CHRIST GET HIM OUTTA THERE!!!

[@TheStuport]

Toby has such grace with his wording. 🤣🤣🤣

[@dealinginfiction]

Wow. Josh booked it. Hahahaha

[@AjeethRajesh]

Josh fully knows how bad it can get when you're hostile at a press briefing. He has first hand experience with that

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

The entire White House staff by the end: "MY GOD, ZIEGLER, that was pure madness! I don't know what to say. Get out of there, the mission's over!"

[@googoo-gjoob]

The *GREATEST* show in the _history_ of television.

[@stevekru6518]

Obviously a matter of opinion, but in mine, maybe a top 100, but not even number 1 in its narrow genre, House of Cards

[@mark-ish]

​@stevekru6518 Yes prime minister.

[@joshuademmers4947]

ER might give it some legit competition.

[@Ansible1000]

CJ really was the best choice. Josh would not be Bartlett’s CoS because Bartlett was too much of a father figure. He’d want to please the president more than advise him and he was too close to everyone in the West Wing to command respect. CJ was just distant enough to make the respect happen, and she was more than intelligent enough to do the job while keeping the President grounded.

[@vdoggydogg3922]

that is how it was written, if Josh got the job you would agree with it as well.

[@josephmanno4514]

And Josh movin' like The Flash ... !

[@dlee6014]

Josh having flashbacks of "secret plans to fight inflation".... hehehehehe

[@geoffrose9647]

1:42 That wasn't scripted, but Allison didn't want to blow the take and just kept going. It's kismet.

[@chrisjones658]

You can tell a bit because Charlie looks momentarily concerned like he wasn't expecting it haha. Never noticed it before if true.

[@russell2952]

Charlie Sheen's got a shoulder injury so he can't move his arm above his head or something and that's how he puts on a coat.

[@chrisjones658]

@@russell2952 Martin * Charlie Sheen is the son with HIV/AIDs and has impulse-control problems.

[@gavinlisk2292]

I love the fact that even Margaret knows that Toby is a terrible press secretary 😅

[@seanmullane4822]

lol, this scene always cracks me up. There is no way ever they're sending a staff sergeant & a buck sergeant to brief the new White House Chief of Staff on her nuclear response plan. AT BEST that is SEVEN levels above their paygrade, more like 8 or 9. LMAO 🤣

[@benlowe1701]

I don't know, I can imagine the President offhandedly saying something like "Send someone important - so she'll listen to them" without thinking about it and the military just doing exactly that.

[@seanmullane4822]

@@benlowe1701 Sorry, you've lost me a bit there. Say again. 🙂

[@benlowe1701]

@@seanmullane4822 I could I.agine Bartlet saying something like "Oh and make sure CJ actually listens to the person you send. You know how she is." And the military hilariously overcompensates.

[@seanmullane4822]

@@benlowe1701 Oh, I'm tracking ya. I was saying that those ranks are VERY low. It would probably be more like a Major briefing the WH-CoS. Or more likely someone of a similar pay grade from the NSAs office. E6 Staff Sergeants have only been in a junior leadership position for perhaps a few years. No way they'd even brief the WH CoS on anything.

[@Maves916]

How the enlisted are the ones you better listen too because they know what there doing lol

[@FutureReverberations]

Cool! CJ can apparently do a 3 minute mile! :D

[@ShankarSivarajan]

That was my thought too, until I realized she'd probably _drive_ instead of sprint.

[@BradyKaynee]

Josh and Toby learn first hand that CJ's job was not easy as it looks

[@johnmcaree7298]

Loved the way that no matter what she said or asked, the security detail in her apartment ignored her and kept on talking.

[@NYCSingleMom]

I love the comments about how hard this job is as though the OG poster could handle any question thrown at them and answer coherently without ending up being the news story.

[@mattep74]

Only thing worse than Toby would be Josh doing briefings. Secret plan to fight inflation....

[@nathan_martin]

My favourite episode of this whole series.

[@jasonrfoss248]

Josh’s sprint down the hallway is eerily reminiscent of that of Pig Vomit in Private Parts.

[@theotheronethere4391]

The Chief of Staff job is basically to act as a traffic controller. The president's time is highly valuable and limited so it is up to the CoS to ensure only relevant and timely information gets in front of the president. To that end, it is almost better to not have a too wonky or too moral character (cough Josh or Toby) as CoS as they will spend hours debating the president on every issue, which is an unproductive usage of the President's time.

[@katrinamcdonnell8913]

Has always pissed me off that the show ignores the existence of the deputy press secretaries. They would have already been filling in for CJ (as much as I love Celestial Navigation, Josh wouldn't have been briefing). Really downplays the importance of the position to suggest that Toby etc could step into the role.

[@theshlauf]

Yeah, seems like that brunette lady that's always working with CJ should have been the one to fill in for her.

[@chukwudiilozue9171]

Kinda shows how hard it is, lol

[@geoffreyrichardson8738]

Toby, Toby,Toby.

[@nathanswanson87]

Toby's a nice name.

[@mjspreacher]

​@@nathanswanson87Come on, give us a hug.

[@clackmannan]

@@nathanswanson87 Are you going to get a dog now?

[@bridgetcollins7969]

The truth is every day Toby & Josh knew they were smarter than CJ and knew her job was so so easy and every time they tried to do it, they fell flat on their faces. When Sam was there it was like bro central. It's not that their jobs were easy - but they require different skill sets and no one gave her credit until they had to.

[@manwithmountain]

this was really a fun show.

[@Flames1793]

Ah missed Josh's insane slide into the picture!

[@tryingtobefairandobjective3480]

As always. Brilliant writing.

[@mbohlin01]

Reminded me of the scene in Duck Soup where everyone shows up in the room

[@aph1976]

Also i'm wondering if Leo picked CJ to be his replacement is because he knew CJ would be leaving politics even if she didn't say it out loud once Bartlett's second term was over while Josh and Toby would be looking to stay in politicThat been said i have no doubt that Leo knew CJ would be a good and capable COS but he was thinking ahead to the future.

[@danivarius]

Amazes me how many people are still in the president’s so called private residence.

[@patwill9]

Toby did a decent job at his first press briefing.

[@fabiolean]

Josh running full tilt down the halls of the White House to STOP THIS

[@vdoggydogg3922]

Nope..to rub it in. Call back.

[@MattSidor]

(gasp) "…my PURSE…!!!"

[@ht6743]

Toby was WILD lmao. 😅

[@davidmarks6042]

G-d I miss this show!

[@Bariom_dome]

I was miffed that CJ's goodbye speech was cut short

[@Zoomer30_]

Wow, somehow Josh making up a "swcrwet pwan to fwayt infaytion" doesn't look so bad next to Toby.

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

Dear God if the media thinks Tobey is bad........They wouldn't leave the room without twitching with me. 😹😹

[@Rambam1776]

This will never not be funny

[@Zanetamim7453]

So does Flamingo 😂😂 get a new code name?😢

[@ScorpiusZA.]

CJ was a good press secretary, but she was a great Chief of Staff.

[@haleykornfield698]

I say flip the superlatives. CJ was a capable COS and I was in favor of the choice but she impressed me more as press secretary. Which makes sense given her background and her limitations working for a lame duck president with health issues

[@B2Roland]

​@@haleykornfield698Bartlett wasn't a lame duck, he served two terms. He didn't lose

[@maestrotownsend8833]

They missed a great opportunity for Josh to rub it in Toby's face about messing up a press conference when they all gave Josh flak back in season 1.

[@Tilion462]

So... If the call comes, whether she's awake, asleep, in the shower etc. - doesn't really matter 'cos CJ'd have to massively break the world record to get to that field if it "won't be more than 3 minutes from code-call to lift-off"... Hmm. When this aired the Women's Mile World Record was 4 min 12.56 sec by Svetlana Masterkova.

[@beyond_hope]

They also commented on her exiting her building nearest the car park. So I thought they meant she'd drive or be escorted to the field. Depending on Washington traffic, that could take 2 mins or 30 mins 😉

[@oasisarah]

@@beyond_hope i imagine if you have a seat on marine one you wouldnt think twice about driving through lights, on sidewalks, or over medians to get to that field

[@Whitpusmc]

I love that she’s literally buttoning up her shirt when these men just bust into her apartment…

[@ClarinoI]

They really think CJ can cover a mile in three minutes when Roger Bannister only managed it in 3:59.4? She'd have to shave 43 seconds off the current men's world record.

[@pdoylemi]

CJ has a car.

[@almightykingbob85]

The yes the PS being promoted to COS is pretty ahistorical, but there are a lot of things about the West Wing that were ahistorical. Just in this same clip CJ mentions her 6 years in the role of PS. In the real world the vast majority of PSs leave before completing a 4th year. Only 2 PSs have ever served for 6 or more years, but that was before the rise of 24 hour news. Any desires the producers had to make the West Wing realistic had to compete with the realities of television ratings. The main cast of characters were popular with the audience and if there was a more realistic cast turnover this might have caused the audience to leave as well. This also meant there was limited space available for additions to the main cast. Given that the producers had planned to spend considerable time telling the story of the election to succeed Bartlet, there wasn’t time to introduce a brand new character as COS, so they opted to instead go with any existing main character the audience already liked.

[@chukwudiilozue9171]

The most competent PS ever become CoS isn't crazy.

[@jozdundar]

You skipped the best part! The Josh slide! 😅

[@BigTulsa]

Even though this part of the series wasn't Sorkin, the writing was still damned good for the most of it.

[@keithduvall812]

She was the best person for the job period and on top of that it was the only name Leo wanted to give. This is because he knew no one else had the chops for the job and everything it entails.

[@tomcolley9008]

So CJ needs to break every kind of middle distance running record to be in a field "about a mile away" within 3 minutes of the alert?

[@nikiryan8648]

As a woman who lives alone, to have several men invade your space with no warning is truly unsettling. I struggle with having my son come to visit.

[@kossttamojaan]

"ninja with a Prada clutch"

[@EclipseCircle]

1:10 TIL Jet Black was a Secret Service agent

[@gu9838]

yeah wasn't the best idea to get Toby to do that was it lol

[@m.s.6586]

I completely forgot Lily Tomlin was on TWW!! And than she and sheen went on to play on Frankie and Grace!

[@sukorileakbatt294]

Toby for President

[@RJSAMCRO]

A question I always had but it was never brought up. Previously when Josh was given a card making him an essential person in the case of a nuclear attack leaving out Toby, Sam , Donna, and CJ he accepted it but in the end he declined because he wanted to be with his friends in that moment if it arose. He actually went to CJ and confessed to her, with CJ replying Josh you can really be sweet sometimes of course they don't want me I'm the press secretary and I'm quite sure there wont be to many press releases. Now that CJ is COS she joins the essentials such as Bartlet and others, I wonder if she ever considered it, knowing that yes she is the COS but would she want to be with her friends or would her duty to POTUS make that impossible?

[@jcs1025]

I think being the chief of staff it would be more of her duty to be there than when she was press secretary.

[@jrpipik]

Toby in front of the press would've been blunt, acerbic, funny, but he would not have been sexist.

[@Pww642]

I can believe promoting CJ to chief of staff. She’s great. What would never happen is the White House Press corps giving her a standing ovation inside the briefing room.

[@punknhead23]

Well, maybe because it was prompted by the president.

[@matrixphijr]

1:32 - Horses, actually. Weren't you paying attention?

[@murrethmedia]

I don't remember Leo having his own Secret Service detail.

[@jasonrfoss248]

Remember CJ had received threatening emails previously.

[@murrethmedia]

@@jasonrfoss248 Yeah, and they caught the guy.

[@bhakti235]

4:31 the prentagon

[@jaredstancombe6724]

Project 2501 became a secret service agent?

[@j.d.cunegan302]

Non-comms people always think working in comms is so easy... until it's time to step behind the microphone.

[@charlessteinman2523]

So Secret Service guys are just expected to live. . . in basements . . . like roaches? -C

[@kerimbozkurt3301]

Getting up at 05:26 in the morning, nope

[@iluvsakuraandsyaoran]

CJ wouldn’t have been COS under Sorkin, but that’s because Sorkin has a huge problem with women and it shows in every inch of his writing. I think CJ would do an admirable job.

[@Pww642]

lol i’m glad someone finally said it. You are absolutely right. Look at all the dumb pratfalls he subjects them to.

[@B2Roland]

Yup women in sorkin's writing are secondary every single time

[@georgecottell6616]

lolwut

[@tjjones2907]

@@Pww642 well, he had the president ride a bike into a tree and Josh was incapable of wearing the shoes his mom sent him. Men have had some pratfalls, too.

[@gheller2261]

CJ's apartment is much too nice for someone living on a government salary.

[@GBTCO2b]

I don't know who's selecting these. Some have been questionable highlights, or they miss off the best bit. But that one is a real humdinger.

[@wanderingfido]

We're learning, sadly, that this almost selfless attention to detail for someone's safety is in no way a reality. Too many people are being hired to collect a paycheck. Just to fudge with the highly public and optically sensitive unemployment rate.

[@timweaver7826]

I love how both Toby and Josh sucked at it so bad.

[@superkjell]

I don't like the fact that when Toby returns from the hospital and Zoey has been kidnapped - he takes complete control and is in charge whilst everyone else is panicking. Then suddenly when Leo is in the hospital, Toby and Josh both become incompetent, bumbling idiots.

[@mistybethune9116]

Whats amazing irl no president has had a woman as chief of staff

[@upcomingexpat]

First, I loved Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg. It's one of the best TV performances ever. Now, with that being said, as a political scientist graduate, it was hard to picture the White House Secretary (regardless of influence/gender, etc.) ever being promoted to Chief of Staff. Especially in a White House where the VP is essentially ceremonial and the Chief of Staff is number two with a president who has major health issues. Yes, the next scene tries to address this with Toby (which was hilarious) but failed.

[@Michael-dy2lb]

That's a great point. The skill set necessary to be an effective White House Press Secretary is dramatically different from that for a Presidential Chief of Staff.

[@glennhoddle10]

Your analysis is spot on. ❤

[@southtexasprepper1837]

Isn't being White House Chief of Staff fun????? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@SN-sz7kw]

😂😂😂

[@AgentQQ8]

LOL. Nice job, Toby. And whose idea was it to put the cantankerous old Jew with negative charisma behind the televised podium? Dude’s an automatic machine gaffer.

[@ladyethyme]

What I find particularly interesting about the people that are whining and complaining about this move, is that they had no problem with Sam and Toby having direct influence on policy as speech writers for like four or five seasons. I hate to tell you guys, but speech writers have absolutely no voice or input when it comes to foreign or domestic policy. They smashed together several positions in order to downsize the cast size. But everybody just ignored that… Not to mention the quite literally hundreds of other errors. Could it be that it is because she's a woman?

[@columbus7950]

3 minutes to go a mile?

[@kennethharrison4847]

That's what Biden doing now.😅

[@andyh4518]

Promoting the press secretary to Chief of Staff is insane.