BUFFALO, NY – The 2024 presidential election will go down in history for many reasons.

Former President Donald Trump winning two non-consecutive terms is a feat only one other president has done before: Grover Cleveland.

“There’s always baggage from a first term,” said Bren Price, the vice president of the Buffalo Presidential Center.

It’s something every president in American history has experienced.

“A lot of things can happen in a first term that will turn people off,” Price said.

For many, including Donald Trump, this could lead to a presidential race loss. Only once before has a president come back to win again and win.

“Grover was kind of an America-first person,” Price added.

The 22nd and 24th presidents, Grover Cleveland, held this distinction until this election.

He won the popular vote in three elections, but lost in the Electoral College at the halfway point.

It was a brief farewell from the nation’s highest office, something Cleveland’s wife, Buffalo native Francis Fulsom Cleveland, foresaw.

“She was known to have said to a steward in the kitchen, ‘Don’t change anything because we’ll be back in four years,’” Price said.

Things weren’t so different then.

“This is James Blaine here, trying to convince people that here’s the vintage car, here’s the young buck,” he said, looking at an old drawing.

Political cartoons were the social media of the time.

“He didn’t want to hire friends, relatives, neighbors (or) people from political parties, he didn’t want to hire people,” Price said. “It really upset the party regulars.”

New politicians went against established trends.

“He put everything he had into his presidency, and it wasn’t always the right thing,” Price said.

Debates about immigration, the economy and more entered the main stage, albeit in different forms than today.

“It’s cyclical,” Price added.

Like Trump, Cleveland was not happy with the way his successor was running things.

“They want to get back into the fight,” Price said.

He managed to bring the country together after his second victory – for a while.

“Right after Grover Cleveland took over, we had the Panic of 1893,” Price said. “It was a major depression, and it really affected the rest of his third term.”

His legacy was a mix of reviews.

“These (books on the table) are all very positive, but not all of them,” Price said as he picked up another book. “Here’s a book some people might want to read called ‘A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland. ”

Right now, the country may feel divided.

“The nerves are frayed right now and will remain that way for a while,” Price said.

Only time will tell how this second term will be remembered.

“It’s my hope, and I think it’s everyone’s hope, that the controversy that we have now, and the frayed nerves that we have now, will eventually calm down,” Price added. “And we move on.”

As for controversial elections, Price said in 1876, it took 115 days to decide the election.

It was a time of violence, arson, money laundering and more.

He notes that most people don’t know that part of our history, but the fact remains that America persevered.