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America’s Great Divide

From Obama to Trump

January 13, 2020

1h 55m

FRONTLINE investigates America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics.

America’s Great Divide

From Obama to Trump

Part 1

January 13, 2020

1h 55m

NOW PLAYING

Part 2

January 14, 2020

1h 54m

FRONTLINE begins its 2020 election year coverage with a two-part, four-hour documentary series investigating America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics.

From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump draws on revelatory new interviews with key political and cultural figures, as well as an unparalleled archive of in-depth broadcast reporting across two presidential administrations, to offer crucial context for the current moment.

Part One traces how Barack Obama’s promise of unity collapsed as increasing racial, cultural and political divisions laid the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. Part Two examines how Trump’s campaign exploited the country’s divisions, how his presidency has unleashed anger on both sides of the divide, and what America’s polarization could mean for the country’s future.

Produced by

Michael Kirk
Mike Wiser
Jim Gilmore
Gabrielle Schonder
Philip Bennett

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