BUFFALO, N.Y. — The 2024 presidential election will go down in history for many reasons.
Former President Donald Trump winning two non-consecutive terms is a feat only one other president has done before: Grover Cleveland.
“There’s always baggage from a first term,” said Bren Price, the vice president of the Buffalo Presidential Center.
It’s something every president in U.S history has experienced.
“A lot of things can happen in a first term which turn the people off,” Price said.
For many, including Donald Trump, it can lead to a presidential race loss. Only once before has a president come back to run and win again.
“Grover was kind of [an] America first person,” Price added.
The 22nd and 24th president, Grover Cleveland, held that accolade up until this election.
He won the popular vote in three elections, but lost the Electoral College in the middle.
It was a brief farewell to the nation’s highest office, something Cleveland’s wife, Buffalo native Francis Fulsom Cleveland, foresaw.
“She was known to have told a steward in the kitchen, ‘don’t change anything because we’ll be back in four years,’” Price said.
Things then weren’t too different.
“This is James Blaine right here, trying to persuade people that here’s the old timer, here’s the young buck,” he said, looking at an old drawing.
Political cartoons were the social media of the day.
“He would not hire, he would not sign off on, friends, relatives, neighbors [or] political party people,” said Price. “It really upset the party regulars.”
New politicians were bucking established trends.
“He pumped everything he had into his presidency, and it wasn’t always the right thing,” Price said.
Debates over immigration, the economy and more took to the main stage, though in different forms than today.
“It’s cyclical,” Price added.
Like Trump, Cleveland wasn’t happy with how his successor was running things.
“They want to get back into the fray,” Price said.
He managed to bring the country together after his second win — for a time.
“Right after Grover Cleveland took over, we had the panic of 1893,” said Price. “It was a major depression, and it really had influence for the rest of his third term.”
His legacy was a mix of reviews.
“Those [books on the table] are all very positive, but not all of them are,” said Price picking up another book. “Here’s a book that some people might want to read called ‘A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland.’”
Right now, the nation might feel divided.
“Nerves are frayed right now and they will be for a while,” said Price.
Only time will tell how this second term will be remembered.
“It’s my hope, and I think it’s everybody’s hope, that the contentiousness that we have right now, and the frayed nerves that we have right now, will ultimately soothe,” Price added. “And we move on.”
As far as contentious elections go, Price said in 1876, it took 115 days to decide the election.
It was a time of violence, arson, money laundering and more.
He notes most people don’t know that part of our history, but the fact remains that America persevered.
