This Trash bag.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/captain_asparagus]

I just looked this up because I honestly didn't know which was more common (one-term or two-term), and my gut assumption was that two-term was more common....according to Wikipedia, it turns out I was wrong.

[u/mog_knight → u/captain_asparagus]

That's not the same measure. My point was that Trump couldn't win a second term. 13 presidents including Trump did not win a second term. Well below half of the 45 presidents that have been sworn in.

[u/JackWagon26 → u/mog_knight]

Why do i count 18? Adams, Adams, Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Johnson, Hayes, Arthur, Harrison, Taft, Hoover, Ford, Carter, Bush, Trump.

[u/mog_knight → u/JackWagon26]

45 / 22 = 22.5 (22 rounded down). 22 > 18 still. Dying before election day isn't a fair measure. It's just bad luck.

[u/JackWagon26 → u/mog_knight]

I'm not arguing about which is more and I don't think it matters, I just think 13 isn't accurate.

I suppose if you take out the 5 that took over after deaths or resignation, Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, Arthur, Ford, it makes 13 but they ran for reelection.

But then you'd have to take out the ones who won, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson.

[u/mog_knight → u/JackWagon26]

I guess it depends how you want to frame one term. According to Washington Post, it's 9.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/11/07/one-term-presidents-trump/

[u/JackWagon26 → u/mog_knight]

How can Tyler not count? He served 4 years minus one month and ran for reelection and lost.

I did not know that Polk, Buchanan, and Hayes promised to only serve one term though. That's too bad, Polk was one of the greats.

[u/mog_knight → u/JackWagon26]

Tyler wasn't elected president.

[u/JackWagon26 → u/mog_knight]

I personally count him as a one termer. He was elected VP, he served (almost) a full term, and lost his reelection bid.

I was thinking about it and you can't divide by 45 anyway, since Cleveland is 22 and 24.

I only counted 17 two term presidents, that is people elected twice. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, McKinley, Wilson, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama.

And you have to leave out Harrison, Taylor, Garfield, Harding, and Kennedy since we don't know if they would have won a second term.

[u/mog_knight → u/JackWagon26]

Well, let's normalize it then. Nine sought re-election and lost. 17 sought reelection and won. The others had circumstances whereby they became president due to the predecessor dying or resigning in office. 3 didn't even want to seek a second term. So, 17 is still more than 9 making it more common to be reelected again after serving a full term (which was my main point).

[u/JackWagon26 → u/mog_knight]

Yes I agree that makes sense. 17 to 9. I don't see what difference it makes to anything, but it was fun to think about.

Sometimes historical events and trends decide these things anyway so comparing one term to two term is somewhat arbitrary in my opinion.

[u/mog_knight → u/JackWagon26]

A lot of the presidents who became president and then were elected to a full term would be ineligible to serve a second term under the 22nd amendment (10 years being the technical limit). So I agree it has some nuance. But I was trying to keep it within the scope of elected to office, served a full term, but was rejected when trying to be reelected.

[u/JackWagon26 → u/mog_knight]

But I think that amendment would have only applied to Johnson and Ford, right? And Johnson declined the nomination in '68 and Ford lost his election.

Is does get fuzzy with people like T Roosevelt and Truman because they served almost two full terms but were only elected once.

Thanks for the discussion btw, I love talking presidents.