Washington police attempted to disperse the demonstrators, but they were outnumbered and unsuccessful. Shots were fired by the police in a futile attempt to attain order, and two protesters were killed while many officers were injured. Hoover sent U.S. Army forces led by General Douglas MacArthur to the protests. MacArthur, believing he was fighting a Communist revolution, chose to clear out the camp with military force. Though Hoover had not ordered MacArthur's clearing out of the protesters, he endorsed it after the fact.[221] The incident proved embarrassing for the Hoover administration and hurt his bid for re-election.[222]

1932 re-election campaign
Main article: 1932 United States presidential election
Hoover addresses a large crowd in his 1932 campaign.
By mid-1931 few observers thought that Hoover had much hope of winning a second term in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis.[223]  The Republican expectations were so bleak that Hoover faced no serious opposition for re-nomination at the 1932 Republican National Convention. Coolidge and other prominent Republicans all passed on the opportunity to challenge Hoover.[224] Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidential nomination on the fourth ballot of the 1932 Democratic National Convention, defeating the 1928 Democratic nominee, Al Smith. 