As Joe Biden becomes US President-elect, Republican incumbent Donald Trump is set to join the ranks of one-term US-President. Trump who defeated Hillary Clinton rode to the US presidency in 2016 with the slogan “Let’s make America Great Again”.
However, Americans have chosen to “Make America America Again” as Joe Biden won popular and electoral votes to become US president-elect. Trump’s presidency was among other things, marred for not adopting a more empathetic and scientific approach to the Covid-19 pandemic and upsetting US political climate with his four years of White House chaos.
The Heritage Times presents a list of other commanders-in-chief’s who lost their bid for a second four-year term in the White House.
John Adams 1797-1801
Let’s go wayback to the days of the founding fathers, did you know that America’s second president John Adams, only served one presidential term? He gave re-election a shot in 1800 but came in the third position behind Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829
Nearly 25 years after John Adams lost his bid for re-election, his son John Quincy Adams assumed the office of the US presidency in 1825. Like his father, he stood no chance against strong opposition at the time from Andrew Jackson who denied him a second term.
Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841
We’ve got to admit that we feel sorry for Martin Van Buren. He was a loyal servant to Andrew Jackson during his eight years presidency, serving as secretary of state, then vice president. When Van Buren was eventually elected President, his administration bore the brunt of terrible economic policies initiated by Jackson. Efforts made by Van Buren to revive the economy proved abortive and he was voted out of office by Americans who had faith in William Henry Harrison.
Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857
Interestingly, Franklin Pierce wasn’t very popular among voters but was elected president in 1853. It was during his watch that “Bleeding Kansas” happened, a development which among other happenings, saw his party deny him re-election. Instead, they chose to nominate someone else.
Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893
Harrison was a happy-go-lucky-politician who became the first presidential candidate to lose popular votes but win the electoral college. However, his presidency was ruined by tariff issues, a development which led to his defeat by the same president who he succeeded (defeated, to be frank) – Grover Cleveland.
William Howard Taft, 1909-1913
Americans had reasons to believe in the continuity of a good presidency when William Howard was handpicked to succeed popular president Teddy Roosevelt. Taft was a skilled administrator with an excellent track record. However, he fell out of favour with the progressive wing of the Republican Party and didn’t win his bid for re-election. Taft who later became chief justice of the United States expressed love for his new job by writing “I don’t remember that I ever was President.”
Herbert Hoover, 1929-1933
Arguably the worst president in American history, Herbert Hoover is known to have exhibited too much incompetencies in one single term. It was during his watch that the stock market crashed, ushering the historical Great Depression. When Hoover he was eventually voted out of office, millions of Americans made homeless by the economic collapse were living in shantytowns dubbed “Hoovervilles.” How pathetic!
Gerald Ford, 1974 – 1977
It would be also interesting to note that Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr is the only US president and vice president that was not elected by the Electoral College. However, the republican lost his bid for re-election to Jimmy Carter. It would be hard to believe that he ran out of luck but it is what it is.
Jimmy Carter, 1977-1981
Yes, Jimmy Carter is a member of the one-term club and an impressive one at that. His presidency was marred by economic problems and the Iran hostage crisis. Carter’s loss of re-election bid didn’t dampen his spirit for service to humanity as he devoted himself to championing human rights, diplomacy and alleviating poverty. In fact, the 96-year-old holds the record for the longest and the most active post-presidency (nearly 40 years). The former president who has interests in poetry, negotiated for hostage release in North Korea and he is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
George H W Bush 1989-1993
Like Trump, George H W Bush was a republican who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. However, it would be fair to note that his one term in office came after eight years of fellow-party member Ronald Reagan. Until his demise in 2018, Bush made his post-presidency worthwhile by teaming with other ex-presidents for humanitarian campaigns like tsunami relief.
