Arie Barkin

Arie Barkin is a character in *Morning Show*, a segment of *It's All Been Done Radio Hour*. When introduced, he is the chief of staff for President Patricia Anderson. He is a short, lean man who wears a watch.

**First appearance:** *Morning Show* #2.02 "Conflict of Interest Part 2"

**Number of appearances:** 1 (as of April 2021)

**Actor:** George Pete Caleodis

## **Personality**

According to Shelly Meyers, Arie is all business and considers small talk a waste of time. He doesn't like multi-part questions, and if he gives a short answer, that's all you'll get from him. His answers are his answers. Arie is direct and to the point. He invites people interviewing him to call him by his first name, but doesn't protest if they don't. He keeps strictly to a schedule.

## **Political Beliefs**

When Pat Shock interviews Arie, Arie is representing the administration. It is unknown what his own beliefs are. Arie is already waiting for Pat, only gives him five minutes, and swiftly leaves without a word when the interview is over.

Arie doesn't like when people say 'zombie' and promotes the use of the term Orange Virus. He confirms the rumor that the Chinese are offering to sell the U.S. their vaccine, but is suspicious, confirming the U.S. only purchases a small quantity for scientists to examine. When it's mentioned Mexico bought a lot, Arie says, they can test it and we'll see how it works. Arie considers this a serious problem that needs treated seriously, but declines to elaborate further, telling Pat to move on.

When Pat asks about why American scientists haven't made much progress on a vaccine, Arie deflects, saying half the country is suffering, states of people have been lost, and unrest and protests have left a huge mess. While he concedes much of the rest started after Anderson took office, he just says don't blame them for what the other guy did, as the crisis started before her term, and she's been working to clean it up.

Arie argues the whole federal government should move to Columbus, where the unrest hasn't followed, urging them to approve funding to do so, and criticizes Congress for using rented conference rooms in Virginia instead. He also claims Anderson gets done what needs done by phone and internet just fine, as the government is currently spread out. Arie implies anyone in government running for office when there is work to do isn't doing their job, defending Anderson's decision not to campaign for re-election, and expects the voters to realize that. He says Congress should use a hotel by adjoining the Convention Center for offices, brushing off the fact that many government employees are living in the hotel while awaiting housing to be built.

On healthcare, Arie says people are suffering and wants a plan to expand Medicare as an opt-in option for all passed. He doesn't deny using the crisis to push this, claiming the private sector has failed spectacularly, and that has only been worsened by recent events. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and they need to rise to the occasion to fix something that has been broken for years. He is skeptical private insurance can compete with this plan and unworried about competition, calling private plans "crappy," though saying people can keep them if the insurance companies stay in business. Arie argues the plan is good for people because of lower costs and protection from bankruptcy from health bills, saying long wait times are better than losing their house, and that serious conditions don't need long waits. He appeals to the populace to try it out and let the government work for people instead of corporations for once. People can always opt-out.

When Pat ends the interview with "O-H," the first half of a local sports cheer, Arie chuckles and gamely responds "I-O" before quickly leaving.

## **Trivia**

* Personality wise, there's a dash of Rahm Emmanuel thrown into the model for Arie, but he's not really modeled after any one individual.