Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Picturing Republican Presidents for Next 24 Years

President Donald Trump gave what many regard as his first truly presidential speech to a joint session of Congress last night, but what struck me was that he was flanked by two men who could also become President:

If Trump serves two terms, his Vice President Mike Pence would be age 65 at the 2024 election. If Pence is elected President and serves two terms, current U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan would be 62 at the 2032 election. And if Ryan is elected President and serves 2 terms, that brings us to 2040, which would be 24 years.

I am not saying this is going to happen, I'm just suggesting that it could. Consecutive Presidents for 24 years from the same political party has happened once before. Democratic-Republican Party Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe were in from the 1800 to 1824 elections.

The Republican Party has had two 16 year runs: Grant, Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur from 1868 to 1884 and McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft from 1896 to 1912. The Democratic Party's longest span has been 20 years: Roosevelt and Truman from 1932 to 1952.

What would it take to set the all-time record for consecutive Presidencies? In 2040, Ivanka Trump will be 59. Grandma Ivanka could be our first female and our first Jewish President.

Note: Some people would count John Quincy Adams in the Democratic-Republican run, but I do not, as the party had effectively collapsed by the 1824 election. But if Ivanka serves 2 terms in the above scenario, she would set the undisputed record.