When President Grover Cleveland left the presidency in 1889, the 22nd President of the United States had no intention of running for a second term. Four years later, on March 4, 1893, Cleveland stood in the east portico of the Capitol, taking the same oath he had recited eight years before.

Cleveland became the battered and bruised but unbroken 24th president: he had faced Tammany Hall, survived scandal, and overcome an embarrassing defeat in the 1888 election. Cleveland, the only Democratic president of the Reconstruction era, believed that the policies of his administration were justified by these four intermittent years. The American people seemed to feel the same way, as Cleveland’s margin of victory, approximately 400,000 votes, was the largest since the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.

More than 130 years later, a similar story seems to be unfolding: Former President Donald Trump is about to do it to do what only Cleveland had managed to do before, returning to the White House after four years of absence from power.

Trump, as well as his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, are doing their part final arguments to the American people before Election Day on November 5. As the Trump campaign did in 2016, it reduced the former president’s speech to a two-minute commercial.

Trump’s closing ad for the 2016 cycle, titled “Donald Trump’s Argument for America” spoke of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement as an insurrection.

“Our movement aims to replace a failing and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American people,” Trump said in the ad. “For those who control the levers of power in Washington and for the global special interests, they associate themselves with these people who do not have your good in mind.”

Trump attacked the same sacred cows of the Washington establishment – ​​immigration, trade and foreign policy – ​​that propelled him to political prominence. “The political establishment trying to stop us is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, mass illegal immigration, and economic and foreign policies that have bled our country dry,” he said. “It is a global power structure that is responsible for economic decisions that have robbed our working class, robbed our country of its wealth, and put that money in the pockets of a handful of big corporations and political entities.”

The message carried Trump to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Trump himself, although a billionaire, embodied the insurrection through his candidacy. He remains the only man ever elected president of the United States without political or military experience. His experience, or lack thereof, led Trump to rely on a part of his identity that he shared with the average American, the Washington outsider.

“The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us. The only person brave enough to vote against this corrupt establishment is you, the American people,” the ad concludes. “I’m doing this for the people and for the movement, and we will take back this country for you. And we will make America great again. »

In 2024, the situation is more complex and the identity of the Trump campaign more nuanced.

The central issues of this election remain the same as in 2016: immigration, foreign policy, as well as the economy and trade. The fundamentals seem to work in favor of the former president. Millions of migrants crossed the southern border into the United States during President Joe Biden’s term. Chaos has spread across American cities, where migrants have overwhelmed schools and social services and gangs have taken over apartment buildings and hotels.

The United States finds itself intimately involved in two wars – one in the Middle East and the other in Eastern Europe – that are poised to expand beyond its region, with the threat of nuclear weapons always hidden in the background. Economic and job growth remain disappointing, while prices and interest rates are rising too quickly for the average American family to keep pace.

Trump is no more, like Michael Moore said in predicting Trump’s 2016 victory, simply “the human Molotov cocktail” that the forgotten man can throw at the establishment. Today, he’s a precision drone striker — the former president has a history and experience dealing with the establishment that opposes him. In 2024, Trump is equal parts politician and outsider, and equal parts incumbent and challenger. He is part of the demolition team and the construction team.

Trump’s closing ad for this election cycle, titled “Never stop” makes a similar argument, seeking to untangle the enigmatic 2024 Trump campaign.

The two-minute ad begins with a quick reminder of Trump’s record as president — tax cuts, rising wages and the economy beating growth expectations — before abruptly switching to what happened under the Biden-Harris administration. “Inflation has destroyed the lives of many people. Interest rates increased from 2% to 10%. Millions of illegal immigrants, traffickers and drugs are entering our country,” Trump said. “Our country has gone to hell”

“So I made the decision to run,” Trump continued. “I will fight for you with every breath and I will never let you down.” The ad then features members of the president’s family and personalities who united behind the former president’s message during the 2024 campaign. Former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, now a Republican, in is part. “We cannot allow our country to be destroyed by politicians who will put their own power ahead of the interests of the American people, our freedom and our future,” Gabbard says in the ad.

While Cleveland was bruised and bled figuratively before returning to the presidency, Trump did it literally: escaping. two assassination attempts during his campaign. “President Trump is literally putting his life on the line, and he’s willing to risk everything because he loves this country,” reads an excerpt of UFC President Dana White’s speech at the Republican National Convention during the advertisement broadcast on video on July 13. assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

While Trump’s final speech in 2016 implored the American people to spark a revolt against the status quo in Washington, the former president’s final speech in 2024 tells a story of survival and success during a close-quarters war of a decade against the political establishment.