FRONTLINE investigates the partisanship that gridlocked Washington in the Obama era, and the polarized America that Donald Trump inherits as president.
"Obamacare" expanded health insurance for millions — but as an excerpt from "Divided States of America" shows, it also fueled years of political polarization and an anti-establishment sentiment that helped pave President Trump’s road to victory.
America's political divide had already reached record levels during the Obama presidency, but according to the Pew Research Center, the partisan split between Democrats and Republicans is now the widest its been in more than two decades.
On election night in 2012, Donald Trump – and many in the Republican party – were shocked when Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney. What happened next was an early example of how Trump would deal with rivals on the road to the White House: He took to Twitter.
In Divided States of America, FRONTLINE set out to examine how the Obama presidency gave way to one of the most polarized eras in American history. We conducted dozens of interviews over hundreds of hours. Here are 21 of them.
The GOP’s return to power is one that took many turns and involved multiple setbacks. But the opening chapter can be traced to the night of Obama’s inauguration.
Over the course of his presidency, Barack Obama was time and again forced to confront events that re-exposed old wounds, and tested the true extent of racial progress in America.
While Donald Trump's victory returns the Republican Party to the White House, it also leaves the GOP with a standard-bearer whose own positions are often at odds with many in the party.
Tonight, we present a revealing exploration of our country's polarization, examining the Obama years and the rise of Donald Trump in our special, two-part series, "Divided States of America."
January 17, 2017
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In order to foster a civil and literate discussion that respects all participants, FRONTLINE has the following guidelines for commentary. By submitting comments here, you are consenting to these rules:
Readers' comments that include profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, harassment, or are defamatory, sexist, racist, violate a third party's right to privacy, or are otherwise inappropriate, will be removed. Entries that are unsigned or are "signed" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. We reserve the right to not post comments that are more than 400 words. We will take steps to block users who repeatedly violate our commenting rules, terms of use, or privacy policies. You are fully responsible for your comments.
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