The President is Missing

Throughout The President Is Missing, President Duncan exemplifies strong, decisive, and confident leadership. He must repeatedly make controversial decisions, often even going against the advice of those around him. The novel contends that Duncan’s willingness to make bold, intuitive, and even controversial decisions is part of what defines him as a successful leader, and this perspective is bolstered because his decisions are virtually always proven correct.

Duncan’s interactions with his staff and team throughout the novel develop this theme, beginning with his team critiquing his decision to testify at his upcoming impeachment hearing. As he defensively reiterates, “I get it […] it’s a bad idea to testify. They’ll tear me to pieces” (21). Later, when he insists on leaving the White House without security, he reflects that his close advisors have “tried hard to talk [him] out of this. Now they’re resigned to helping [him] make it work” (94). The affectionate and trusting relationships between Duncan and his team are crucial to the success of his leadership style: His team supports him even when he acts counter to their advice, and he knows that they will always defer to his decisions. To some degree, Duncan does embody a “lone wolf” type of leadership, but he is also deeply intertwined with the support he receives from others.