How rare is Biden’s decision not to run again? A look at other ‘1-termers’

Joe Biden’s determination to driblet retired of nan 2024 statesmanlike race places him connected a mini database of U.S. presidents who were capable to tally again but chose not to.

Biden announced his withdrawal connected Sunday, aft weeks of unit to measurement aside, forcing nan Democratic statement to measurement a caller nominee to return connected Donald Trump just months earlier nan election.

“It simply is unprecedented for a party’s candidacy to benignant of rustle up successful this way,” University of Toronto governmental subject professor Ryan Hurl said.

Biden, 81, made nan determination aft a anemic statesmanlike statement capacity that renewed questions astir his property and expertise to lead. Republican nominee Donald Trump is now nan oldest statesmanlike nominee successful history astatine 78.

Biden is endorsing U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris arsenic the Democratic nominee. She has received capable support from delegates to look group to go her party’s nominee.

One-term presidencies tin sometimes beryllium associated pinch “failure” but Université du Québec à Montréal history professor Greg Robinson says Biden’s bequest whitethorn person been saved by nan early exit.

“I deliberation it’s a statesman-like action to front retired now,” Robinson said. “He would person looked atrocious being defeated connected nan ground of his property if he had run.”

While one-term presidencies are not rare, it’s comparatively different successful U.S. authorities for an American president not to activity re-election.

Here are others:

Truman became president successful December 1945, aft nan decease of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman led nan U.S. done nan extremity of nan Second World War and approved nan usage of nan atomic bombs connected Hiroshima and Nagasaki successful Japan.

He was re-elected successful 1948 but dropped retired of nan statesmanlike title successful 1952 because of his debased popularity.

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Johnson took complete successful 1963 aft nan assassination of John F. Kennedy. He went connected to triumph nan U.S. predetermination nan pursuing year.

In 1968, astatine nan extremity of a reside astir nan unpopular warfare successful Vietnam, Johnson announced he would not activity different term.

Hurl says while existent events tin power decision-making, sometimes it boils down to individual circumstances.

“It’s a substance of individual choices and societal forces beyond nan power of immoderate 1 fixed individual,” he said.

“We will not cognize really Biden would person fared if nan aging issues were not rather truthful extreme.”

Unlike Biden, different “one-termers” including Jimmy Carter (1977 –1981), George H.W. Bush (1989-1993), and astir recently, Donald Trump (2017-2021), sought re-election but were defeated.

“The truth is that moving for president arsenic an incumbent is simply a large advantage. And astir incumbent presidents win. Donald Trump, moreover though he mislaid successful 2020, came beautiful adjacent to hanging on,” North Carolina State University Prof. Steven Greene told Global News.

Biden’s withdrawal intends “we’re going to person for nan first clip successful galore decades, a bid of one-term presidents here,” Green said.

The announcement besides caps disconnected a tumultuous fewer weeks successful U.S. politics.

Hurl points to nan effort connected Trump’s life and Biden’s disastrous statement performance.

“In each of these shocking events, nan daze of seeing an almost incapacitated Biden connected shape during nan statement was successful immoderate ways moreover much shocking than an assassination attempt,” he said.

— pinch files from Jackson Proskow