Joe Lawton

Joe H. Lawton is the President of the United States in the HD Universe of the Grand Theft Auto series.

Description
According to Thomas Stubbs' Bleeter, President Lawton's birthday falls on or around February 16th. Lawton's father, George, also served as President. Lawton appears to be largely ignored by the media, and receives comparatively little media coverage in contrast to celebrities like Cloe Parker and Jill Von Crastenburg.

According to WKTT's Conspire show, Lawton studied at the University of San Fierro and was in the same fraternity as the inventor of credit default swaps. However, Conspire's authenticity is highly questionable, as they also claim that Lawton resurrected his own father from the dead.

During the events of Grand Theft Auto V (set in 2013), Lawton is still President and still largely ignored by the media in favor of celebrity gossip.

Ron Jakowski claims Lawton is a drug addict and connected to the Illuminati, but Jakowski's paranoid nature and willing belief of government conspiracy theories makes this debatable.

Businessman Devin Weston claims he is close to President Lawton, to the extent that Lawton allows Weston to "finger his wife", though Weston's arrogant and boastful nature likely indicates that this wasn't a serious statement.

Policies
Lawton is implied to be a left-wing President, as a sign in South Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto V reads, "Impeach the Socialist!" However, a spam email in The Ballad of Gay Tony suggests he opposes free healthcare, and an ad for a luxury condo in Grand Theft Auto Online urges potential buyers to "snap it up now before President Lawton loses the next election and they tax the hell out of you". Lawton supports extending the Jingoism Act in order to protect freedom, which legislates for increased government surveillance and phone tapping.

Influence
Joe Lawton is likely based on, and. Both Lawton and Bush succeeded their fathers as presidents of the United States. Barack Obama was elected in 2008, and got a second term after being elected again in 2012. The "Impeach the Socialist" sign in South Los Santos is a reference to a common criticism of Obama. Ironically enough, a common point of criticism to Obama was his liberal reform of the healthcare, while Lawton is said to be against free healthcare.

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