His short-lived bid for the 1900 elections made many mistakes

Many people recommended that George Dewey run for President in 1900 on the Democratic ticket. However, mistakes in public relations traumatized his campaign. According to a report, he claimed that the job of the president would be simple because the executive branch only had to carry out orders in order to implement the laws passed by Congress.

He also stated that he would "execute the laws of Congress as faithfully as I have always executed the orders of my superiors." He acknowledged that he had never voted in a presidential race. It is more controversial when he casually but accurately predicted that "our next conflict will be with Germany" to a newspaper reporter.

Additionally, George Dewey married a Catholic (something some Protestants didn't approve of) and gave her a house that he had been given by the country. Dewey withdrew from the contest in the middle of May 1900. Overall, his candidacy seemed doomed, and he resigned, endorsing William McKinley, who went on to win the election. After withdrawing from the presidential contest, he was appointed president of the recently founded General Board of the Navy Department, which was the Navy's main policy-making body.