Ellen Claremont

> *"I was 28 when I was elected to the state legislature. I had 150,000 constituents. Now I have 300 million. They need me to be realistic so they can be idealistic."* - Ellen to Alex
>
>

**Ellen Claremont** is the first female President of the United States of America, the mother of Alex Claremont-Diaz and June Claremont-Diaz, and the wife of Senator Oscar Diaz. She is a Democrat from Texas, and speaks with an unapologetic Southern drawl.

## Relationships

#### Alex Claremont-Diaz

Alex is Ellen's son

June Claremont-Diaz

June is Ellen's daughter

## Parenting

Ellen has always cared about talking about feelings, and raised her kids in that belief. But, when she was elected president, as Alex once mentioned, "Life became less about feelings and more about international relations" (McQuiston 15). Still Ellen could occasionally fit time for a pizza dinner with Shiner with her children. When this happens they all gather into the game room and she asks the family the highs and lows of their day, and then talks with them about their lives.

Although she tries to be present with her children, they both harbor a sense of resentment and/or loss with their mother. She was in congress for most of their lives and that meant she had to travel to Washington D.C and other states a lot. This lead to milestones in the kids' lives that were missed due to that position. One example is on a first day of school, Oscar had to braid June's hair because Ellen was in Washington, D.C.

In addition Ellen has been put in an air of ignorance or denial toward her children and their choices. This problem is mainly toward June, who is a Journalist. Ellen at one point offers all of the White House Trio jobs on her re-election campaign, Alex and Nora willingly say yes but June refuses to do it. Ellen tells June she should be "realistic" and that it would give her practical experience at the Journalism that she loves.

## Habits

#### Power-Points

Ellen Claremont is known for her power-points. Whenever there is a complex topic in which you need to break it down, (ie first girlfriend, sexual affair with foreign monarchs). In these power- points, Ellen has creative titles and gets her point across with short, but strong sentences.

#### Unzipping Skirt

Ellen has a habit to signal the end of her presidential duties for the day. It is said that she unzips two inches of her skirt, throws off her heels, and "scrubs" her face to switch from president to mother.

#### Calling Children by Other Parents last name

Ellen and Oscar often speak to their children if certain character traits shown in the parents appear when the children (mainly Alex) get in trouble. Ellen and Oscar do this by isolating one of the two hyphenated last names Alex and June have. Example, If Alex is too stubborn Oscar will text him "Let it go, Claremont" (McQuiston 60).

## Trivia

* She is a daughter of a single mother
* Her father died in Vietnam
* When she first ran for the House of Representatives, the Austin newspaper gave her the nickname "Lometa Longshot."
* She worked night shifts at diners to put herself through law school.
* She was arguing cases before the Supreme Court by the time she was 30 years of age.
* Very good at pool.
* Worked at her mother's bar at the age of 16.
* When she played pool at the bar, she hustled the customers by acting silly one game, betting double or nothing for the next, and winning.
* Her Secret Service code name is "Black Bear".
* She has a noticeable Southern accent and speaks with a Texas drawl.