Trump, who ran for president in 2016 and won, becoming the 45th President of the United States, will once again face current President Joe Biden, who was elected as the 46th President of the United States on November 3, 2020. This upcoming presidential rematch is the first since 1956 when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson for the second time.
While there have been instances of presidents running for office more than once, the direct rematch between the two former presidents is a unique event in recent history.
If Trump wins, he would be the second president to serve nonconsecutive terms. The only US President to have obtained this feat was Grover Cleveland (US 22nd and 24th president).
Grover Cleveland had lost the presidency to Benjamin Harrison in the 1888 election but then won it back in the 1892 election, making him the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
Other former presidents who attempted but failed to regain the presidency include;
Ulysses S. Grant sought the Republican nomination in 1880 but lost to James A. Garfield due to a convention dispute. Then, there were no term limits, unlike the current two-term limit imposed by the 22nd Amendment in 1951.
Three former presidents tried to return to the White House with different political parties. Teddy Roosevelt, initially a Republican, declined to run for another full term in 1908, supporting William H. Taft instead. Displeased with Taft’s leadership, Roosevelt challenged him for the Republican nomination in 1912 but lost. He then ran for president under the Progressive Party, securing second place with 88 electoral votes.
Millard Fillmore, who succeeded Zachary Taylor in 1850, sought the Whig Party’s nomination in 1852 without success. Later, in 1856, he ran for president under the Know-Nothing Party but only won Maryland.
Martin Van Buren, a Democrat, lost his reelection bid in 1840 to William Henry Harrison of the Whig Party. In 1848, he attempted a comeback with the Free Soil Party but didn’t win any electoral votes.
