Regardless of whether GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump wins on Tuesday, this election has already been a historic one — mainly within the history of the Republican Party, of course, but also by extension for America as well.
Here are the three most important ways in which Trump’s candidacy have broken historical precedent.
1. This is the first election since 1940 in which a major party nominated a presidential candidate without any governmental or military experience.
The last non-politician and non-military presidential nominee were Wendell Willkie, whom the Republicans nominated based on his strong record as a business executive. Although Willkie’s candidacy was unusual in that he had never held elected office, the Republican Party has a long history of viewing the business experience as a valued qualification for public office.
It’s hardly a coincidence that George W. Bush was the first president to have an MBA or that Mitt Romney touted his business acumen as the main selling point. That said, Bush and Romney were both elected to other offices before running for president (as governors of Texas and Massachusetts, respectively), while Trump went directly from his business career to his presidential campaign.
If he wins, Trump will be the first president to be elected without a career stopover in politics or the military.
2. It is the first time a presidential candidate from either party has been explicitly anti-free trade since Herbert Hoover in 1932.
It may seem hard to believe now, but there once was a time when presidential candidates didn’t dare speak out against free trade. Sure, some of the fringe-y candidates on the left or right might insinuate that trade deals like North American Free Trade Agreement and Central America Free Trade Agreement weren’t all that great, but those guys never won their party’s nomination.
The last presidential candidate — or for that matter President — to be openly anti-free trade was Herbert Hoover more than 80 years ago. Trump, by contrast, has been a consistent opponent of free trade since the 1980s, and along with Sen. Bernie Sanders has compelled Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to become more critical of impending trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
