By Gabriel Akinadewo
Donald Trump, on Wednesday, staged a political comeback to the White House as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States (U.S.), the most powerful nation on earth.
The 78-year-old politician and businessman defeated the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump, the Republican candidate, was first elected in 2016 but was defeated in 2020 by President Joe Biden.
On Wednesday, he won the presidential election again and will be sworn-in on January 20, 2025 as the 47th president.
So, in history, Trump is now the 45th and 47th President (after his second swearing in) of U.S.
But, in the political history of U.S. spanning 248 years, Trump is the second president to stage a comeback.
The first president to be defeated and to return to the White House was Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th Commander-in-Chief.
Cleveland set precedent of nonconsecutive presidential terms, with a gap of four years between terms.
As the first Democrat elected after the civil war, he was also the first President to leave the White House and return for a second term four years later.
One of nine children of a Presbyterian minister, Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837 and was raised in upstate New York. He died on June 24, 1908 at 71.
He was president from March 4, 1885 to March 4, 1889.
He returned as president from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1897.
His wife was Frances Cleveland and his children were Ruth Cleveland, Esther Cleveland, Oscar Folsom Cleveland and Francis Cleveland·
Cleveland was governor of New York when he became the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 1884.
A narrow victory in the popular vote gave him enough votes in the Electoral College to be named president. Four years later, even though he once again had a slight lead in the popular vote, he lost the Electoral College count to Republican Benjamin Harrison in 1888.
He won both the popular and Electoral vote in 1892 to return to the White House in 1893.
