Do you have to be involved in politics to run for president?

No, anyone can run.

@cockswain Thanks man, all I wanted to know

If you are running for President, you are involved in politics, no?

@jaytkay Yeah, as of then you are. But I thought you had to have a career in politics before you could run.

So who is the most previously-unpolitical president?

Ulysses S Grant?

The most previously-unpolitical presidential candidate I can recall who won a lot of votes was Ross Perot.

What about Eisenhower?

What about Eisenhower?

Doh! My fail.

Honestly, I’m no expert in the immediate post-military lives of Eisenhower or Grant. It’s possible you’re right. I was just wondering.

I would say Grant & Eisenhower would be equivalents. Recent victors of unprecedented big wars.

Ima high school graduate, so pretty much what I say is true :-)

Probably to be effective some experience would be helpful. Do you have to be an apprentice before you can be a journeyman electrician?
Jerry Brown ran and won for Governor of California on the basis that he knew how to Govern. A novel idea in an anti incumbant year, but the people GOT IT! Especially after being driven into the ground by Arnie the Governator. Experience matters, even in government.

Trump is a property developer? He’s in politics deep, trust me. but people like him with huge sums of money to spend can have a shot as long as they can talk the language of the voters and I don’t think people of that ilk can.

Anyone can run; you won’t stay uninvolved with politics if you run, and your chance of winning are pretty low if you don’t know how to play the game.

Not really. The chances to win aren’t low because you don’t know the game it’s because you don’t have people behind you to run the campaign.

apparently not.