History UsefulNotes / GeraldFord

* On the matter of Carter and Ford, Carter's victory in 1976 made Gerald Ford the first incumbent to be defeated in an election since Herbert Hoover all the way back in ''1932''. [[note]]Harry Truman served the remainder of FDR's elected term after his death, and then was elected to one term of his own; Dwight Eisenhower was elected to two proper terms; JFK died during his first term, of which LBJ served the remainder of before being elected to one term of his own. And Richard Nixon was elected to two terms, only to resign during his second term, of which Gerald Ford served the remainder of before Jimmy Carter defeated him.[[/note]]

* On the matter of Carter and Ford, Carter's victory in 1976 made Gerald Ford the first incumbent to lose re-election (well, he wasn't ''elected'' in the first place, per se, but still) since Herbert Hoover all the way back in ''1932''. [[note]]Harry Truman served the remainder of FDR's elected term after his death, and then was elected to one term of his own; Dwight Eisenhower was elected to two proper terms; JFK died during his first term, of which LBJ served the remainder of before being elected to one term of his own. And Richard Nixon was elected to two terms, only to resign during his second term, of which Gerald Ford served the remainder of before Jimmy Carter defeated him.[[/note]]

* On the matter of Carter and Ford, Carter's victory in 1976 made Gerald Ford the first incumbent to lose re-election (well, he wasn't ''elected'' in the first place, per se, but still) since Hebert Hoover all the way back in ''1932''. [[note]]Harry Truman served the remainder of FDR's elected term after his death, and then was elected to one term of his own; Dwight Eisenhower was elected to two proper terms; JFK died during his first term, of which LBJ served the remainder of before being elected to one term of his own. And Richard Nixon was elected to two terms, only to resign during his second term, of which Gerald Ford served the remainder of before Jimmy Carter defeated him.[[/note]]

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.[[note]]Born '''Leslie Lynch King, Jr.'''; he was rechristened with his stepfather's name after his mother remarried.[[/note]] (July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States ([[TheSeventies 1974–77]]), following UsefulNotes/RichardNixon and preceding UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter.

* He is also the beneficiary of being vindicated by history, as historians and political analysts now state that he performed well in an extremely difficult job during very turbulent period of American history. Most notably, even though it was a difficult decision for him and undoubtedly cost him the election against Carter, it's pretty much generally accepted (even by those who were heatedly against it at the time) that his pardon of Nixon was the right thing to do. A minority view, however, continues to hold that Ford's pardon was damaging to the rule of law and gave future presidents the message that they any corrupt acts they commit in office will not result in punishment.

He refused to criticize UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush while he was alive, insisting that an interview where he said, "[Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld and [Vice President Dick] Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq", not be released until after his death.

* Accusing UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter of being "all sizzle and no steak" on the campaign trail, though the two of them became good friends after Carter's term ended. Their rivalry which became a friendship, lasted from 1981 when Carter left office until Ford passed away in December of 2006, can be contrasted with the friendship between UsefulNotes/JohnAdams and UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, who maintained correspondence with each other until Jefferson died hours before Adams did on July 4, 1826.

* Opposing ''Roe v. Wade'', though he became 'pro-choice'[[note]]In US politics, the debate over abortion is defined in terms of 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice'. The former means one is in favour of making abortion illegal, and the latter means one is in favour of keeping it legal. It is also a [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment very, ''very'' controversial subject]][[/note]] later in life.

* In {{Theatre/Assassins}}, he helps two women pick up the bullets that have just spilled out of one of their guns. Said women are Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore. HilarityEnsues.

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He was the longest-lived person to serve as president until UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush took the title in 2017; since Ford's passing on in December 2006, and Bush's passing in 2018, UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter has long since surpassed both Ford and Bush in longevity. He got an aircraft carrier (yet to be completed) named after him while he was still alive. Notably [[http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Ford.html difficult to caricature]] [[TheNondescript due to a complete lack of distinguishing features]]. Satirical portrayals usually focused on his [[TheKlutz clumsiness]], mainly due to [[NeverLiveItDown that one time he fell down the stairs deplaning Air Force One, in front of TV cameras]] (which is ironic because he was a star athlete on the football team of his alma-mater, UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan) and genial demeanor. Fittingly, he's usually depicted as a bit of a clumsy but amiable doofus.

He was longest-lived person to serve as president until UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush took the title in 2017, he got an aircraft carrier (yet to be completed) named after him while he was still alive. Notably [[http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Ford.html difficult to caricature]] [[TheNondescript due to a complete lack of distinguishing features]]. Satirical portrayals usually focused on his [[TheKlutz clumsiness]], mainly due to [[NeverLiveItDown that one time he fell down the stairs deplaning Air Force One, in front of TV cameras]] (which is ironic because he was a star athlete on the football team of his alma-mater, UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan) and genial demeanor. Fittingly, he's usually depicted as a bit of a clumsy but amiable doofus.

* Having an impeccable sense of openness and honesty in his dealings, with fellow Michigan congresswoman Martha Griffiths remarking: "In all the years I sat in the House, I never knew Mr. Ford to make a dishonest statement nor a statement part-true and part-false. He never attempted to shade a statement, and I never heard him utter an unkind word."

* Being in favor of gay rights toward the end of his life in the '90s and early '00s, all the while remaining married to Betty Ford.

** It gets better. While he grew up in Michigan, he was actually born in Nebraska...and that makes him the only president to have been born in Nebraska, meaning that in a way, two states can claim Ford as their only president.

The 15th President from the Republican Party, Ford is unique in that he's the only person thus far to assume the office without having been elected either President ''or'' Vice-President. A long-time Republican congressman who dreamed of becoming Speaker of the House, he was appointed to the vice-presidency after Nixon's original Vice-President, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned amidst a slew of criminal investigations of corruption, tax evasion, and general jerkishness. Then Nixon resigned eight months later, making Ford the president.

Ford didn't do a whole lot in office beyond negotiating ''[[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Russo-American Détente]]'' with UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev. Domestically the extraordinary circumstances of how he assumed the office were the distinguishing feature of his presidency. Between the major neutering of the President's powers that came in response to Watergate (which would not be restored to what they once were until UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush's presidency), Congress falling into the hands of opposition politicians (again in response to Watergate) and the circumstances by which he became president causing him to not be taken seriously by Congress or the media--both whom saw him as nothing more than a temporary caretaker, so he was effectively powerless. He is, to date, the only President to hold office since UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt that never made ''Time'' magazine's "Person of the Year."[[note]]''Time'' typically selects US presidents as "Person of the Year" for the year of their election, and Ford was never elected.[[/note]] Additionally, a 2005 Creator/DiscoveryChannel poll of the 100 greatest Americans included all of the presidents since FDR ''except'' Ford. He's most famous for:

* Remarking upon UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's resignation that "the long national nightmare is over", then granting Tricky Dick a pardon for anything he may have done--probably his most unpopular action. Ford himself would seem to agree, as he reportedly told a golf buddy during a discussion about Heaven and Hell: "I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

* Accusing UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter of being "all sizzle and no steak" on the campaign trail, though the two of them became good friends after Carter's term ended.
* Being in favor of gay rights toward the end of his life in the '90s and early '00s.
* Falling down a lot, due to an inner ear problem. This was lampooned by ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' actor ChevyChase. He wasn't as much of TheKlutz as ''SNL'' viewers would be led to believe -- although Chase's parody of this became so iconic that this trait was mentioned in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' "Presidents" song 20 years later. It should be noted Ford was a former football star at the University of Michigan (he played center) and generally extremely fit; while he did indeed fall down the steps of Air Force One (he later said this was because the stairs were slick due to rain) he picked himself up at the bottom of the stairs and was shaking hands with dignitaries before anybody could even ask if he was okay.

* Puns on his name being that of a car (although he's not related to Henry Ford or his descendants). Besides the quote below, other Republican primary challengers distributed buttons reading "Ford is an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel Edsel]]" and "Trade in your Ford in '76". And then there's the fact that the most famous satirist of him was ''Chevy'' Chase.

Ford didn't do a whole lot in office beyond negotiating ''[[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Russo-American Détente]]'' with UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev. Domestically the extraordinary circumstances of how he assumed the office were the distinguishing feature of his presidency. Between the major neutering of the President's powers that came in response to Watergate (which would not be restored to what they once were until UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush's presidency), Congress falling into the hands of opposition politicians (again in response to Watergate) and the circumstances by which he became president causing him to not be taken seriously by Congress or the media--both whom saw him as nothing more than a temporary caretaker, so he was effectively powerless. He is, to date, the only President to hold office since UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt that never made ''Time'' magazine's "Person of the Year." Additionally, a 2005 Creator/DiscoveryChannel poll of the 100 greatest Americans included all of the presidents since FDR ''except'' Ford. He's most famous for:

* He is also the beneficiary of being vindicated by history, as historians and political analysts now state that he performed well in an extremely difficult job during very turbulent period of American history. Most notably, even though it was a difficult decision for him and undoubtedly cost him the election against Carter, it's pretty much generally accepted (even by those who were heatedly against it at the time) that his pardon of Nixon was the right thing to do.

* His debate gaffe in 1976 when he said that Poland was not under Soviet domination (It was, as per the UsefulNotes/WarsawPact.)

* Opposing ''Roe v. Wade'', though he became 'pro-choice'[[note]]In US politics, the debate over abortion is defined in terms of 'pro-life' and 'pro-choice'. The former means one is in favour of making abortion illegal, and the latter means one is in favour of keeping it legal. It is also a [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment very, ''very'' controversial subject]][[/note]] later in life.

AKA "Mr. NiceGuy", "The Accidental President" or just plain "Gerry Ford". [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Chevy Chase]] owes his career to him.

The 15th President from the Republican Party, Ford is unique in that he's the only person thus far to assume the office without having been elected either President ''or'' Vice-President. A long-time Republican congressman who dreamed of becoming Speaker of the House, he was appointed to the vice-presidency after UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's original Vice-President, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned amidst a slew of criminal investigations of corruption, tax evasion, and general jerkishness. Then Nixon resigned eight months later, making Ford the president.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gerald_ford_portrait.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Any similarity to [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Auric Goldfinger]] is purely coincidental.]]

The 15th President from the Republican Party, Ford is unique in that he was the only President who assumed the office without having been elected either President ''or'' Vice-President. A long-time Republican congressman who dreamed of becoming Speaker of the House, he was appointed to the vice-presidency after UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's original Vice-President, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned amidst a slew of criminal investigations of corruption, tax evasion, and general jerkishness. Then Nixon resigned eight months later, making Ford the president.

'''Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.'''[[note]]Born '''Leslie Lynch King, Jr.'''; he was rechristened with his stepfather's name after his mother remarried.[[/note]] (July 14, 1913 -- December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States ([[TheSeventies 1974-1977]]), following UsefulNotes/RichardNixon and preceding UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter.

Unique in that he was the only president who assumed the office without being elected either president or vice-president. A long-time Republican congressman who dreamed of becoming Speaker of the House, he was appointed to the vice-presidency after UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's original vice-president, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned amidst a slew of criminal investigations of corruption, tax evasion, and general jerkishness. Then Nixon resigned eight months later, making Ford the president.

* By all accounts, he had a great sense of humour.

'''Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.'''[[note]]Born ''Leslie Lynch King, Jr.'''; he was rechristened with his stepfather's name after his mother remarried.[[/note]] (July 14, 1913 -- December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States ([[TheSeventies 1974-1977]]), following UsefulNotes/RichardNixon and preceding UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter.

'''Gerald Rudolph Ford''' (July 14, 1913 -- December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States ([[TheSeventies 1974-1977]]), following UsefulNotes/RichardNixon and preceding UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter.

* ''Series/That70sShow''. Ford visits Point Place, and Red gets his CrowningMomentOfAwesome at a Town Hall Q&A:

* Being married to Betty Ford, one of the most politically active First Ladies in history. She pushed for, among other things, the Equal Rights Amendment, breast cancer awareness and abortion rights, and spoke candidly about marijuana use and premarital sex, often leading conservative critics to call her "No Lady". It's been argued that she had a greater impact on the US than her husband did -- she was named "Woman of the Year" by ''Time'' in 1975. Today, she's also known for establishing the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse recovery.