XW-9 Warhead

Jeff Johnson casually tells Donna Moss that an XW-9 warhead sits in a silo 93 feet beneath the Eisenhower putting green. He shares this during her West Wing orientation, mixing it with badge safety tips and iodine tablet advice. The claim startles as a security secret, undercutting its gravity with his favor request for his girlfriend's teen magazine call. Staff later reference it amid security talks, heightening urgency over national defense risks.

2 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S4E5 · Debate Camp

Informal Mentoring — and the Warhead Whisper

The XW-9 warhead is invoked as a whispered, conspiratorial fact — the narrative seed that renders the orientation more ominous and later becomes the factual hinge for Donna's security trouble. Here it functions as lore: simultaneously a security detail, rumor, and dramatic hook.

Before: Unstated in the scene; exists as institutional lore and buried physical object (rumored) 93 feet below the Eisenhower putting green.

After: Elevated from private rumor to part of Donna's personal knowledge set; it becomes a transmissible piece of information she later repeats publicly.

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S4E5 · Debate Camp

Small Talk, Big Risk: Warhead Rumor and a Favor

The XW-9 warhead is the extraordinary informational kernel Jeff confides to Donna: a rumored thermonuclear device in a silo 93 feet beneath the Eisenhower putting green. It functions as a narrative catalyst, turning casual orientation into a potential security breach once repeated publicly.

Before: An anecdotal, whispered secret referenced by staff lore; not publicly confirmed within the scene.

After: Becomes part of Jeff's offhand orientation; its mention attaches the idea to Donna and later narrative consequences (rumor-to-publication trajectory).

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