- You may have noticed that the numbering of the presidents on this site differs from other sources. The reason is because of the non-consecutive terms of Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump. When Cleveland began his first term in office he was the 22nd person to hold the office. When Cleveland was defeated by Benjamin Harrison in the next election, Harrison became the 23rd president. This has resulted in different ways of counting the presidents.
- When Cleveland defeated Harrison in the next election and took office for his second term, there still had only been 23 individuals since George Washington to hold the office, Cleveland being the 22nd. However, because of Cleveland's non-consecutive terms many sources call him the 22nd and 24th president. The situation with Donald Trump is the same and he is the 44th person to hold the office. Even though George Washington served two terms no one calls him the 1st and 2nd president. The fact that the Cleveland and Trump terms were not consecutive is irrelevant in determining the number of presidents.
- Therefore, to answer the question how many U.S. presidents there are, count the unique names which shows that only 45 men have served as president. Accordingly, PresidentsUSA.net describes the current president, Donald Trump, as the 44th president of the United States and Joe Biden as the 45th.
- President Harry Truman himself shared this view of presidential numbering and a monument at his birthplace describes him as the 32nd president. See the following two links that reference Truman's position.
- Sporcle article
- Washington Post article
