Donald Trump is often described as unprecedented, but in winning a non-consecutive second term—thus occupying two numerical slots in the presidential order—he has a significant antecedent: Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president.
For more than a century, Cleveland, the first Democrat to occupy the White House during the postbellum period, enjoyed the distinction of being America’s only president to serve non-consecutive terms. With Trump’s reelection, that’s about to change—and one New Hampshire-based history buff has a unique perspective on that development: Cleveland’s grandson, George Cleveland. (Yes, grandson: born in 1952, George never met his famous grandpa, who served as president in the late 1800s and had children late in life.)
In an interview, Cleveland, 72, told TIME about Grover’s unusual presidency and why he isn’t feeling great about Trump being compared to his grandfather.
TIME: Your grandfather Grover Cleveland is getting quite a lot of attention in the wake of Trump's win. How does that feel, as a direct descendant?
CLEVELAND: Well, the thought has been brewing for a while. Although I never really considered we’d get to this point. I think the most unfortunate part is that the question “Who is the only non-consecutive president of the United States?” was one of the most popular Grover-related [trivia] questions. Now we’ve lost that. But he’s still the first.
That’s what Cleveland is best remembered for. Are there other aspects of his legacy that people should know him for?
Well, I don’t know how many people carry $1,000 bills in their wallet, but he’s on there. Beyond that, Grover was kind of a quiet president. He sat down and did the job, dealing with what was in front of him. I don’t think he had a really broad view of things ideologically, like Teddy Roosevelt a few years later. He just hunkered down to deal with, “What is the money problem?” The patronage system was certainly something he was violently opposed to and may have been one of the factors that caused him not to get reelected [in 1888].
It’s rare for presidents to mount a reelection campaign after being voted out of the White House. There must be some sort of defiance that Trump and Grover Cleveland share.
I think the motivation may have been different. Grover really… he… I’m trying to say this in a really not Trump-negative way. And right now that’s difficult for me [laughs].
Grover had work that he wanted to get finished and I don’t know if that was really the driving force behind Donald Trump. …
It sounds like you’re not a Trump guy.
That would be a safe thing to say.