# “Firsts” in this election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 27, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336 "2016-02-27T21:56:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/21 "2016-02-28T01:50:48Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Obama is descended from slaves . . . on his MOTHER’s side! Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/22 "2016-02-28T02:20:55Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Sanders, if elected, would be the first president from Vermont. Calvin Coolidge was also born in Vermont, although he attended Amherst College and worked his way up through Massachusetts state politics. Vermont: Mother of Presidents! ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/23 "2016-02-28T04:04:59Z")
Should have been more precise. No president has as of yet had a Vermont residence when he ran for office. Sanders would be the first. That was the meaning of “from” I was aiming for, but didn’t make clear. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/24 "2016-02-28T05:01:03Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Cruz, if elected, would be the first president born in Canada - notwithstanding rumors about Chester Arthur. I think he’d be the first foreign born President period. Assuming we don’t count folks like Washington who were born in Colonies that later formed the US. ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/25 "2016-02-28T05:07:08Z")
Trump would be the first to lack either government or military experience. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/26 "2016-02-28T05:18:49Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I think he’d be the first foreign born President period. Assuming we don’t count folks like Washington who were born in Colonies that later formed the US. Agree, the colonies by today’s standards are America, and those early guys were not foreign born. There is no proof just speculation in regards to Arthur’s Canadian birthplace. So Ted Cruz will be the first established foreign born president. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/27 "2016-02-28T06:27:16Z")
First leading presidential candidate to argue for committing war crimes before before being elected. Trump has said he’ll bring back stuff “worse than water boarding” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/28 "2016-02-28T08:12:27Z")
If the American electorate Feels the Bern on election day, he will be the first president whose last name begins with S. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/29 "2016-02-28T09:57:44Z")
If a Democrat wins, it will be the first time a non-incumbent Democrat running after two or more Democratic Presidential terms beat a Republican. > [@panache45](#): > > Obama is descended from slaves . . . on his MOTHER’s side! Cite for the plural slave_S_? Obama was descended from John Punch, the famous first black slave of Virginia, but AFAIK none of Punch’s children, parents or wife were also slaves. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/30 "2016-02-28T11:18:27Z")
Nema98, it’s standard practice to account for inflation when comparing wealth across generations. For most purposes, wealth is relative. Yes, the word “billionaire” technically means “possessing a billion dollars,” but if you’re so hung up on the “billion” part, why insist on dollars? I’m worth a billion Turkish lira myself – do I become a billionaire when I visit Turkey? Anyway, I for one would be interested in how FDR and Washington’s wealth stacked up against Trump’s, after adjusting for inflation. But I suppose your right in that it sounds wrong to call Washington a “billionaire” outright; you’d be better off saying “a billionaire in 2016 dollars” (if indeed he even was; I don’t know.) Point is, simply making a big deal out of Trump being the “first billionaire president” would give too much credit to Trump, and not enough to the inevitable march of time. It would be a bit like saying “Trump would be the first president to use Windows 12 on his laptop.” ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/31 "2016-02-29T03:01:19Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Nema98, it’s standard practice to account for inflation when comparing wealth across generations. For most purposes, wealth is relative. Yes, the word “billionaire” technically means “possessing a billion dollars,” but if you’re so hung up on the “billion” part, why insist on dollars? I’m worth a billion Turkish lira myself – do I become a billionaire when I visit Turkey? > > Anyway, I for one would be interested in how FDR and Washington’s wealth stacked up against Trump’s, after adjusting for inflation. But I suppose your right in that it sounds wrong to call Washington a “billionaire” outright; you’d be better off saying “a billionaire in 2016 dollars” (if indeed he even was; I don’t know.) > > Point is, simply making a big deal out of Trump being the “first billionaire president” would give too much credit to Trump, and not enough to the inevitable march of time. It would be a bit like saying “Trump would be the first president to use Windows 12 on his laptop.” True BUT its just wrong to state that Washington or FDR were “the first billionaire elected to office as president” when they were not billionaires. They’ve been dead for a long time, Washington for 217 years. They were not billionaires during their lifetimes, Donald Trump is a billionaire, it’s not giving him credit just that it’s fact. If he is elected president then Trump would be the first president with a netwoth of over a billion. It’s really simple, those guys did not have that networth when elected and may not even if adjusted for today’s money. Simple no need for making it complicated. It’s important to mention while the person is alive and at he time of election. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/32 "2016-02-29T03:16:35Z")
Donald Trump would only be the second president born in June, the other so far being George HW Bush, Bernie Sanders would only be the second born in September, besides William Howard Taft. Hillary Clinton would be another president born in October, already the most popular month of birth for presidents. Hillary would be the first former first lady to become president. John Kasich is unlikely to be nominated and hence elected, so regardless who is elected president, it will remain that no president would be born in the 1950’s to date. He was the only hope for that decade. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/33 "2016-02-29T03:50:41Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > …it will remain that no president would be born in the 1950’s to date. Damn. I was really hoping to see a U.S. President inaugurated while wearing a coonskin cap. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/34 "2016-02-29T04:18:39Z")
Trump will be: - First orange president. - First president with a [fuzzy golden caterpillar](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHpANPOXAAAXPlE.jpg:large) on his head. (No really, it’s a [real animal](https://www.thedodo.com/donald-trump-caterpillar-hair-1206147966.html) called the “flannel moth caterpillar”; indigenous to South America) - First TV show host president? (Not counting guest-hosting SNL) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/35 "2016-02-29T04:30:32Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > First “First Laddie” First Gentleman. Or First Lord, just to piss off the anti-royalists. > [@Count Blucher](#): > > I think Trump may be the first candidate for president whose hair is guaranteed to be inflammable up to 1500 degrees. Oh, I think his hair’s inflammable at a much lower temperature than that… First president to follow a black president. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/36 "2016-02-29T05:24:03Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > He would also be the first president descended from American slaves.\* > > \*At least as far as we are sure of. There have been lot’s of rumors and conspiracy theories that previous presidents were partially black. And those whites with white colonial American ancestry probably have a few American Indians and Africans in there somewhere, given the numbers of generations, and thus numbers of ancestors involved. Herbert Hoover’s vice president, Charles Curtis, was partially Native American. He was born in Kansas Territory in 1860. > **[Charles Curtis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Curtis)** > > Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929. A member of the Kaw Nation born in the Kansas Territory, Curtis was the first Native American and first person in a racial minority group to reach either of the highest offices in the federal executive branch. > Based on h... ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/37 "2016-02-29T10:04:50Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > - First TV show host president? (Not counting guest-hosting SNL) Reagan hosted two TV shows during the 50’s ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/38 "2016-02-29T11:25:16Z")
If the Donald wins, it will be the first successful presidential candidate to routinely use the word ‘F\*\*K’, while campaigning. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/39 "2016-02-29T11:58:42Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > John Kasich is unlikely to be nominated and hence elected, so regardless who is elected president, it will remain that no president would be born in the 1950’s to date. AFAICT, he’d also be the first Anglican president. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336/40 "2016-02-29T14:22:04Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > If the Donald wins, it will be the first successful presidential candidate to routinely use the word ‘F\*\*K’, while campaigning. Well, while being recorded, anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firsts-in-this-election/747336.md?page=3)