In the past two episodes, I've told you guys about two of the most well-known presidents

from recent history. JFK is remembered as a martyr. LBJ is remembered mostly for the Vietnam

War, but at the very least, he's remembered. This week, I regret to inform you, we're

talking about Grover Cleveland. Now, hear me out. The fact that we've all forgotten about

Grover Cleveland is just proof of his genius. He went to extreme lengths to protect his

reputation as honest and incorruptible. And I don't just mean lying to the press, although

he definitely did that too. I mean, he committed several violent felonies just to keep his other

violent felonies under wraps. He ruined lives, he ended careers, and that was all before

he became president. Welcome back to Very Presidential. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. You

can find all episodes of Very Presidential and all other podcast originals for free on

Spotify. And if you like what you're hearing, reach out on Facebook and Instagram at

podcast and Twitter at podcast network. When Grover Cleveland was elected in 1884, he was

known as Grover the Good. By the time he left office though in 1897, he was getting so many

death threats that the White House security force had to be increased from two officers

to 27. So what happened? Stay tuned to find out. Grover Cleveland didn't choose to run

for president. It was chosen for him. In the 1884 election, corruption was the issue of

the day. And there was no stronger anti-corruption candidate than Grover the Good. In his one

years governor of New York, the 47-year-old 260-pound colossus had made enemies out of just

about every crooked politician in the state. He went after Tamini Hall, the political machine

that had basically controlled New York politics for a century. He vetoed any bill that smelled

a profiteering or cronyism. So when the Democratic Convention rolled around in July, Cleveland

was the obvious frontrunner. That isn't to say he was a shoe in. His enemies from Tamini

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