Presidential: The presidents who’ve tried to win back the White House
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 October 2024
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, host Lillian Cunningham created the “Presidential” podcast, with one episode dedicated to each of the (at the time) 44 U.S. presidents. Now, in the thick of the 2024 election, Lillian is back. This is the second of two special “Presidential” podcast episodes released in advance of the presidential election on Nov. 5. The episodes examine how the candidates, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, could make history if they win. This episode focuses on the history and precedent surrounding Trump’s run, as a former president hoping to retake the office.
Library of Congress archivist – and “Presidential” fan favorite – Michelle Krowl talks with host Lillian Cunningham about the long history of American presidents seeking reelection after their tenure has ended, unspooling the stories of the six previous men to try it. Only former president Grover Cleveland was successful, but all of their efforts offer parallels and lessons for today.
Want to brush up on more presidential history? Listen to the full “Presidential” podcast. Host and creator Lillian Cunningham takes listeners on an epic historical journey through the personality and legacy of each American president. The podcast features interviews with the country’s greatest experts on the presidency, including Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Jon Meacham and Bob Woodward.
Archival audio in this episode is courtesy of the Library of Congress and the G. Robert Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi there, it's Martine. Back in 2016 in the lead up to the presidential election, |
| 0:08.0 | my colleague Lillian Cunningham launched the Presidential Podcast. Each episode of that show is dedicated to the life |
| 0:14.7 | and history of an American president. And now the head of the 2024 election, the |
| 0:20.5 | presidential podcast is back. |
| 0:23.0 | They've published two episodes looking at how the respective candidates could make history |
| 0:28.0 | if they win. |
| 0:29.0 | We shared the first one with Post Reports listeners a few weeks ago about the history Vice President |
| 0:33.8 | Kamla Harris would make if she wins. And now we're bringing you the second |
| 0:38.6 | installment ahead of the election. This one examines the history that former President Donald Trump could make as only the second president to return to office after they left. |
| 0:50.0 | All right, here is the latest episode of Presidential. |
| 0:54.0 | It's a presidential election year, and a former president is looking to regain the White House. |
| 1:01.0 | He had served in office for one term but didn't get reelected. |
| 1:05.9 | Now four years later he's fighting hard to get back in. As the election draws near it looks like he might just be successful. |
| 1:15.0 | And who is he? He is Grover Cleveland. And the year is. |
| 1:20.0 | The year is 1892. |
| 1:22.0 | So not 20. The year |
| 1:23.2 | So not 2024, Michelle, you're sure? |
| 1:26.7 | When you think that something is unprecedented and it's never happened before, |
| 1:31.6 | go back and look at another time, |
| 1:33.8 | because you'll probably see parallels, |
| 1:37.0 | some of the language and some of the use of the media. |
| 1:39.8 | So not to say that we aren't living in times |
... |
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