Our Viewpoint: Tump makes history

Donald Trump made history in three ways this month when he defeated Kamala Harris for the presidency.

First, some news sources say he might have scored the greatest political comeback in U.S. history: he's only the second man to win the presidency in non-consecutive terms, and the only Republican to do it. The first man to get two non-consecutive victories was Democrat Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving first from 1885 to 1889. He then lost to Benjamin Harrison, one of the last Civil War veterans in the Oval Office.

Cleveland is a relatively unknown and an unremarkable president. His only political hiccup was having fathered an illegitimate child, for which he accepted responsibility. He was born in New Jersey, but grew up in New York, serving as the mayor of Buffalo and state governor. And until Trump’s victory over Harris he was the only person to win the office twice, but not consecutively. Both Cleveland and Trump won the electoral and popular vote, though Cleveland won New York.

According to the First Ladies Association For Research and Education, Frances Folsom Cleveland, the first lady, told the White House staff to take care of the furnishings because they’d be back in four years. And they returned for the first time in presidential history, until Trump did it as a Republican.

— Ed Moreth