In the next episode of "Designated Survivor," President Tom Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) faces a scandal when he is heard calling the American people "suckers" in a leaked conversation with a senator.
The trailer for the upcoming installment titled "Suckers" was released just recently and showed Kirkman with his staff watching the breaking news about him. "The president has called the American people 'suckers,'" the news commentator says as the commander-in-chief's face sinks in disbelief. Apparently, the president had a private conversation with a senator that was leaked to the public. However, Kirkman's slip-of-the-tongue may have been taken out of context. Nevertheless, his team including Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), Seth Wright (Kal Penn), and Lyor Boone (Paulo Costanzo) have to race against the clock to contain the scandal.
Wright faces the White House Press Corp and addresses the embarrassing incident as the reporters ambush him with questions. Meanwhile, Rhodes advises the president in the Oval Office and says, "If we wake up tomorrow and 'Suckergate' still leads, the spiral may be irreversible." Kirkman slumps in his chair and says that the whole thing is ridiculous. Boone further adds, "We kill this story today, sir, or it kills us." It remains to be seen how the president will get out of this sticky situation.
In the last episode, Kirkman faced a scandal when a Mexican citizen was shot and killed at the boundary when he rammed through a border fence amid a strike. Protesters called it a "hate crime" which fueled the president's enemies' narrative. Nevertheless, the commander-in-chief was able to reach a trade agreement with the Mexican border authority and the issue was laid to rest. The scandalous incident died down to Kirkman's relief.
"Designated Survivor" season 2 episode 5 will air on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC.
