In 1952, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, then a Republican presidential candidate, had privately planned to select General Douglas MacArthur for his running mate and give him national-security responsibilities if Taft received the nomination, according to General Courtney Whitney, who was familiar with the discussions. MacArthur, whose recent firing by President Harry Truman had been unpopular in some quarters, later accepted that offer and gave the keynote address at the Republican convention. The Taft-MacArthur pairing, which became public knowledge among party insiders, aimed to “ignite Republicans with the kind of oratory MacArthur had used to wow Congress as well as the millions who heard him by ad and television,” Stanley Weintraub wrote in his book 15 Stars.
That’s what happened — sort of. Speculation about MacArthur’s place on the hypothetical Republican ticket was so welcome that Taft received calls to step down and allow MacArthur to run as the presidential candidate at the convention instead, Whitney wrote. But Taft maintained his candidacy, and General Dwight Eisenhower won the nomination after the first ballot at the convention, going on to win the election.
Source.Obviously Ike was alarmed by Taft’s isolationist foreign policy views, especially given his own experience as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe both during and after WWII, but I can’t help but wonder if his old boss Douglas “brazenly defied three (3) Presidents’ orders” MacArthur also factored into Ike’s thinking.
