Many say the upcoming presidential elections will set two precedents in US history. One is that it would be the first time a former president seeks re-election after defeat.
If Donald Trump actually manages to defeat Joe Biden next November, it would also be the first time a former president returns to office and gets two non-consecutive terms at the White House. The entire assumption, however, is flawed and historically incorrect.
The Glover Clevland Precedent
Trump is not the first president to seek re-election after defeat; should he win, he will not be the first to return to office. In the late 19th century, Grover Clevland served as president from 1885 to 1889.
A former mayor of New York and Democrat leader, Benjamin Harrison defeated him at the polls in 1889. Clevland did not like it – one little bit – and vowed revenge, pretty much like Trump did in 2020.
Four years later, he ran for office again, defeating Harisson in 1893 and becoming the first American president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Grover Cleveland#POTUS pic.twitter.com/8Bb1w7wigA
— Presidential Wisdom (@PrezWisdom) March 29, 2024
But Clevland was no Trump; he had none of his outbursts, no scandals to his record, and no court case. In fact, his single most important trait was a reputation for honesty, politeness, and good character.
Clevland’s biographer Allan Nevins described him in his 1932 work A Study in Courage: “His greatness lies in typical rather than unusual qualities. He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not.”
Hoover tries and fails
We also had Herbert Hoover, president from 1929-1933. Like Trump, he too was a Republican, wealthy before coming to office, from mine investment and consultancy. He lost the 1932 elections and tried running for office again in 1940.
At 58, he felt it was too soon to retire, nominating himself for a second term eight years after leaving the White House. He, too, was unsuccessful and went into retirement, writing books and turning down several positions President John F. Kennedy offered him in the early 1960s.
The Roosevelt Factor
It wasn’t until February 1951 that the 22nd Amendment was ratified, which limited the presidential term to two terms only.
Before that happened, we had a major historical precedence, with the four-term presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which began in March 1933 and ended with his death on 12 April 1945, three months into his fourth term.
Roosevelt stayed at the White House for 12 years and three months and remained the only president in US history to serve not three but four terms.
This was an exception enjoyed by no other man before, and no man since, and it is linked directly to his outstanding performance during the Great Depression and World War II, which the US entered in December 1941.
Roosevelt turned the balance of power in Europe, dying just weeks before the passing of his two archenemies: Benito Mussolini, shot on 28 April 1945, and Adolf Hitler, who committed suicide at his Berlin bunker on 30 April 1945.
