Steven Armstrong

Steven Armstrong was a United States Senator representing Colorado, as well as a candidate for the 2020 United States Presidential Elections.

At some point, Armstrong delivered a speech, and then talked with his speech writer where he apparently said the speech to get his approval ratings up, expressing his belief that people only care about spin, and no longer care about information control or even right or wrong. He also had some involvement with the Desperado PMSC and its activities, to which his speech writer warned him that he'd appear before a grand jury had his connection to the group been revealed, although he himself believed that they won't do a thing in either case, as he believed that the "average joe" wouldn't care due to believing that money is the only thing that truly matters. Armstrong also expressed a desire to actually remake America's position as the most powerful nation in the world and reclaim the American Dream, also blithely stating that the Tea Party Movement was not going to succeed due to its unwillingness to make sacrifices, impying that he wanted to instigate a redo of the American Revolution, and compared himself to the true Sons of Liberty. Armstrong then dismissed him as he had to run, although not before promising to talk to him soon. The conversation was later leaked.

Personality and traits
He is shown to be extremely nationalistic, as evidenced by his desire to "reclaim the American Dream" by instigating another American Revolution after the events of Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection and the Patriots' actions left America as not being the dominant superpower. He was also shown to be extremely cynical in regards to his views of people and especially his electorate, stating that people won't care about if a bad action happens or information control as long as there's money involved or if it's at least given a good spin such as effectively placing blame on the other guy. He's very arrogant and uses excessive nanomachines in battle. He fights Raiden with his bare hands and manages to destroy Raiden's visor and his HF Blade. Besides his nanomachines, he was also in supreme physical condition, which he attributes to playing several sports in college, including Football.

Behind the scenes
Steven Armstrong was first heard in a "leaked" conversation with one of his staff writers on the website http://www.waronourshores.com, and later on the teaser site, as part of a viral marketing campaign for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, with the description stating that listening to it will have the viewer learn the horrifying truth of what Armstrong's plans for America are. His motivations of wanting to restore the American Dream by instigating another American Revolution on its borders is similar to that of Solidus Snake, who also created a group known as the Sons of Liberty.

Armstrong makes his first "physical" appearance in a 2020 presidential poster depicting his face being issued to various schools promoting Rising, although most of his face is obscured by graffitied words "War Monger." The poster's date as well as his leaked conversation being on the Make It Right Viral Marketing Site implied that the events of Metal Gear Rising would take place around 2020. The pre-E3 show later claimed that the game would actually take place in 2023. However, producer Yuji Korekado said in an E3 preview that the game takes place about ten years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and the TGS 2012 pamphlet later confirmed that it would take place in 2018.

There is some conflicting sources regarding how his first name is supposed to be spelled. The defaced poster mentioned above spells it as "Steven" (with the "ve" being partially obscured by part of the "Monger" graffiti). However, the description for the official trailer on YouTube, posted by Konami, spelled his first name as "Stephen."

A leaked list of trophies/achievements reveals that Armstrong will act as the final boss in the game. His being a boss likewise implies that Armstrong is also a cyborg, or, more likely, the pilot of Metal Gear.

Armstrong's boss theme is "Collective Consciousness." The lyrics contain a message to the unenlightened masses to give up their free will forever and let the country control their souls.