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The evening after last week’s midterm elections, first lady Jill Biden hosted a dinner for the White House Historical Association, founded by Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 to preserve the Executive Mansion as a historic icon of American democracy. A member of the association’s board of directors, I wondered in advance whether the president’s home would be draped in black crepe if the dire predictions of massive Democratic losses in the 2022 midterms materialized.

In a surprise appearance at the pre-dinner reception, President Biden was a portrait of joyful relief. Taking a victory lap over his party’s unexpectedly strong showing, he had just returned from a news conference where he announced his “intention” to run for reelection in 2024. Will the next presidential contest reenact 2020, with Biden and former president Donald Trump at the top of their respective parties’ tickets? Will Trump attempt to be the country’s next Grover Cleveland, our only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms in the White House?

In a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump on Tuesday announced he’ll run for president in 2024, after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to set up a campaign fundraising account.

Trump and Cleveland share many characteristics. They certainly have the same rotund body type. Both have a history of womanizing: Cleveland fathered a child out of wedlock; Trump’s three marriages and alleged porn-star liaisons are infamous. Each president is known for characteristic hairstyles — Cleveland’s walrus mustache, popular in the late 19th century, and Trump’s combover, a last resort for balding men in any era. Both suffered medical emergencies during their presidencies (Cleveland’s cancer surgery; Trump’s COVID diagnosis), and each tried to keep details from the public. Both lost reelection on their first try for a second term.

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