Trump makes history with third straight nomination, but after a calm start, launches into usual divisive rhetoric

Former — and perhaps future — President Donald J. Trump made history Thursday night when he became just the third candidate nominated in three consecutive elections for president.

Democrat Grover Cleveland, a former Buffalo, N.Y. sheriff and mayor and New York governor, was elected in 1884, defeated for re-election by Republican Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of one-month President William Henry Harrison, in 1888 despite winning the popular vote, and bounced back to vanquished Harrison in a rematch in 1892.

Democratic legend Franklin Delano Roosevelt of New York was on the losing end of a national race in 1920 when he was the vice-presidential candidate, but he was elected president in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1940. With presidential term limits put in place after FDR’s death, he will almost certainly be the only person to serve more than two terms.

Henry Clay of Kentucky, one of the most influential political figures of the early 19th century, was a major party candidate in 1824, 1832 and 1844, losing each time.

Richard Nixon of California was on the Republican national ticket five times, as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate in 1952 and ‘56, and as the presidential candidate in 1960, ‘68 and ‘72.

He lost to Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy in a nail-biter in 1960, defeated Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a South Dakota native who represented Minnesota in the Senate in 1968, and rolled over Sen. George McGovern, the South Dakota prairie populist, in a massive landslide in 1972.

Historically, one loss ends presidential hopes. That trend has been reversed in recent years, as Delaware’s Joe Biden, who struggled to gain traction for the 1988 Democratic nomination, dropping out before a vote was cast, and in 2008, was elected in 2020.

Now Biden, who turns 82 in November, is being pressured to step aside to allow another, younger Democrat to challenge Trump (seen above campaigning in 2016 in a public domain image posted on wikimedia commons), who turned 78 in June. Other presidents have departed after a single term, including several who were not nominated for a second four years, including John Tyler, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan and Rutherford B. Hayes.

Several presidents were murdered or died during their first term, including William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James Garfield, Warren G. Harding and Kennedy. Three vice presidents, Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur and Gerald Ford, served out the term of the president elected on their ticket, but could not win a full term.

Fillmore and Arthur, who rose to power when a president died, were not even nominated. Ford, who replaced the scandal plagued Nixon, lost to Carter in 1976, a close and interesting election often forgotten by political observers.

Others were rejected by voters when they sought re-election, including John Adams, his son John Quincy Adams, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and, so far, Trump.

He hopes to follow in Cleveland’s footsteps and become the second president to regain the office after being shown the door.

There are two special cases — Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, who served the final 14 months of JFK’s term after his assassination, won a landslide victory in 1964, and after launching a bid for a second full term in 1968, dropped out when challenged by Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota and New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the younger brother of the slain leader who held a deep-rooted hatred for LBJ.

Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts, who took the reins after Harding died two-thirds of the way through his term, was elected in his own right in 1924, but announced in Rapid City during his 1927 summer vacation in the Black Hills that he did not choose to seek a second full term.

Biden might become a singular figure in American political history if he withdraws from the race, as it appears he may do soon. His faltering performance in a June 27 debate and unsteady showing in public appearances and interviews has many voters unsure about him. Democratic Party leaders, fearing a return to power by Trump, are trying to talk him into retiring and allowing another candidate to represent their views.

Despite his own advanced age, Trump appears much more alert, vital and energetic than Biden. It’s not all makeup and hairspray, either.

He provided vivid proof of that on July 13, when he survived an assassination attempt that left him bleeding after a bullet nicked his right ear. Trump rose to his feet after several shots rang out, blood on his face.

Before Secret Service agents could remove him from the stage, he pumped his fist in defiance, urging his supporters to “Fight!”

It was an electric moment in the midst of a tragedy. It also seemed to change Trump when he started his speech Thursday night. He was calmer than usual, quieter, almost reflective as he carefully described the attempt on his life.

That didn’t last, of course. Trump returned to his usual bellicose style, attacking Biden by name after vowing not to do so. He made baseless allegations and stretched the truth to the point of breaking several times.

In other words, he was Trump, bandaged ear and all. He is seeking a return to power, pledging to be even more reckless, even more divisive, even more dangerous to democracy.

After the assassination attempt, Republicans pledged to make unity a theme for this convention. That was largely ignored as speech after speech consisted of fading politicians who once challenged Trump, those with their eyes on 2028, and scattered conservative loonies, tossed red meat to the delegates.

Once he warmed up and set aside the clearly disturbing memories of his near death, Trump topped it off with his typical bluster and braggadocio. Not much has changed after an event that could have been, should have been, life-changing.

If he wins, and he is the clear favorite now, he can make history again, matching Cleveland, whose second term was a disaster.

Trump’s second shot at power might be even worse.

Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states and contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Republish with permission.