President
Donald Trump has served as the commander-in-chief of the United States for just
about four months now. He has more than 1,300 days left in his current term and
after that would very likely run for another.
With
a 40 percent approval rating, Trump is historically unpopular. And as news
about the multiple investigations into his presidential campaign’s ties to
Russia continues to break, media outlets and lawmakers have launched into
rampant speculation about whether he will make it through the rest of his term.
While
the Russian investigations could theoretically bring Trump down, he has defied
all political odds to survive and, until recently, has enjoyed broad support
among his base. No matter what happens, though, he won’t have the shortest or
most ineffective presidency in history. Several U.S. presidents barely had time
to gild the White House before their successor stepped in.
Harrison |
William Henry Harrison
- 31 Days in office
Harrison,
elected to the presidency in 1840, was the oldest president to enter the White
House at the time, at the ripe age of 68. A common refrain says he caught a
cold while delivering his Inaugural Address that later developed into
pneumonia. However, recent reports speculate he may have been infected with
deadly bacteria that lead to a septic shock. He died on the 32nd day of his
presidency.
James Garfield - 199
Days
James
Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, elected in 1881 following
nine terms in the House of Representatives. He was shot during the first year
of his presidency by Charles Guiteau, an “embittered attorney,” according to
the White House.
Garfield |
Two
bullets struck him; one grazed his arm and another lodged itself into his
abdomen. As The New York Times notes, the lack of advanced medical equipment
saw “at least a dozen medical experts [probing] the president’s wound, often
with unsterilized metal instruments or bare hands.” They couldn’t find the
bullet, which doctors later declared created “a nonlethal wound,” and a series
of poor medical decisions saw the president dead several weeks later. His death
is listed as an assassination.
Zachary Taylor - 492
Days
Taylor, America’s 12th president, fell ill
after participating in a July 4 celebration at the Washington Monument. He died
five days later.
Taylor |
Wild
theories that he had been poisoned with arsenic were discounted in 1991 after a
Kentucky medical examiner determined he died of “one of a myriad of natural
diseases.” It’s more likely he died of cholera or a similar bacterial
infection.
Harding |
Warren G. Harding - 881
Days
Warren
G. Harding was just over halfway through his presidential term when he suddenly
died of a heart attack at the age of 58 in San Francisco.
Gerald Ford - 895 Days
Ford |
Gerald
Ford became president after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, in the middle of
his second term. Ford finished out the term and, despite his decision to pardon
his predecessor, garnered moderate popularity. In his obituary, the Times
called his term an era of “pivotal days of national introspection, involving
America’s first definitive failure in a war and the first resignation of a
president.”
He ran for election
two years later, defeating former California Governor Ronald Reagan to win the
Republican nomination. He ultimately lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
No comments:
Post a Comment