25 Designated Survivor Quotes that Make Politics Entertaining in a Good Way

If you can’t get enough of political dramas, these Designated Survivor quotes will hit the spot.

Politics in real life can be exhausting, but the plot that takes place in the television show Designated Survivor is sure to entertain you.

It follows the story of Thomas Kirkman.

He is the person who was designated as the designated survivor for the state of the union.

When an attack kills all the successors to the President, he ends up in the role.

The show covers his story of stepping into the role while also trying to solve the mystery of who was behind the attack.

These Designated Survivor quotes help tell the story.

Don’t forget to also check out these Outlander quotes recapping the first 5 seasons.

If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation. 

If you want more motivational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Designated Survivor quotes by Tom Kirkman

1. “Your problem wasn’t my scruples. It was your lack of them.” — Tom Kirkman

You will also enjoy our article on political quotes.

2. “If everybody is so afraid of losing, how on earth can anyone ever win?” — Tom Kirkman

3. “Technology changes. Human biology doesn’t.” — Tom Kirkman

4. “Without truth, there can be no trust.” — Tom Kirkman

5. “We’re not defined by our difficulties. We’re defined by how we respond to them.” — Tom Kirkman

6. “We’re gonna do our jobs. And we’re gonna keep doing them until someone makes us stop.” — Tom Kirkman

7. “Bullets don’t stop bleeding. They start it.” — Tom Kirkman

8. “It’d be a lot easier if someone left behind a manual.” — Tom Kirkman

9. “This is what you get for being honest in D.C., opportunism.” — Tom Kirkman

10. “Art is the lifeblood of society.” — Tom Kirkman

11. “ It’s not always up to us how history plays itself out.” — Tom Kirkman

12. “An architect’s first responsibility is to the people who are affected by his work.” — Tom Kirkman

13. “I don’t need a nuclear solution. I need a political one.” — Tom Kirkman

14. “Doing the right thing doesn’t always make you feel good.” — Tom Kirkman

15. “My country is predicated on the idea that one man matters. One man can make a difference.” — Tom Kirkman

16. “I never thought I’d be in a position to decide who lives or dies.” — Tom Kirkman

17. “If you do this long enough, you’ll realize you don’t really know anyone.” — Tom Kirkman

18. “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.” — Tom Kirkman

19. “What do you want me to do, General? Declare war? Why not? 40 minutes ago, they showed me the nuclear football. I guess I’ve had it long enough to try it out.” — Tom Kirkman

20. “Anger alone is no prescription. We need to figure out how to take that anger and turn it into action.” — Tom Kirkman

21. “An insomniac’s dream is a regular person’s sleep.” — Tom Kirkman

22. “What do you do when a bear charges you? Don’t panic. You don’t have to outrun the bear, just the guy standing next to you.” — Tom Kirkman

Designated Survivor quotes by Alex Kirkman

23. “An opportunist with a credible threat is a dangerous thing.” — Alex Kirkman

24. “You always need to make time for the things that are important.” — Alex Kirkman

25. “Change does not mean that we abandon our principles.” — Alex Kirkman

Which of these Designated Survivor quotes is your favorite?

The first two seasons of Designated Survivor aired on network television.

While there were some mixed reviews of it people generally liked the way Kiefer Sutherland played the lead role.

During these two seasons, the on-air president was known for staying somewhat neutral between political parties.

This gave the show a different spin than many that were happening at the same time.

However, when the show was moved to Netflix for the third season, they positioned the character farther to the left.

This wasn’t as well-received along with the fact that the show began to push the boundaries and become more vulgar.

Overall though, fans were interested in the story behind the “designated survivor”.

You can read through the Designated Survivor quotes and lines above to see if the show is worth your watch.