Transcripts For KQED Frontline 20240712

Let it be said we refed to let this journey end. That future is our destiny. Narrator the president s uley become. I, Barack Hussein obama, do solemnly swear. We have to heal the divides in our country. I am your voice. Narrator and now on frontline. That the end of this chapter of american darkness began hereo nar the choice 2020. Frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station om viewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation for public broadcasting. Major support is provided by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just,erdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. The Ford Foundation working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide at fordfoundation. Org the abrams foundation,rovided committed to excellence in journalism. E park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awarens of critical issues. And by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. G overnight, growtional unrest. Narrator with the nation in crisis. Mobs sowing chaos in cities across the nation. Narrator . This is the story of two candidates forged in their own crises. Political pundits said there was no way it could be done if the city would gather narrator . Personal tragedies. An Automobile Accident killed the wife and baby daughterid of. Narrator . Public controversies. Trumps newspaper adsbu cont to the citys racial polarization. Narrator . Challenges that anita hill comes to washington. The donald is facing an incredible cash crisis. I cant breathe i cant breathe narrator . And show how crisis. Uld lead a country together, we are taking bac our country. Narrator the choice 2020. Ul. In a battle for the of america. Narrator trump vs. Biden. America wants to know welcome to america wants to know. Im ernie anastas, and this is the. In 1992, i hosted a special show in new york where viewers asked a lot of queions about their favorite celebrities. Many, of course, were t interested in donaldmp, and what he was like as a young boy growing up in queens. I managed to catch up with ump, and asked them, what wasd donalds favorite game as a child . Ay he monopoly. Yes, indeed. He liked to play. He played with his brother. Uhhuh. He played with robert, but with building blocks. E played ooh. Always with building blocks. Narrator but Donald Trumps childhood was much more complicated. Early on, a family crisis, his mother seriously ill. When he was twoandahalf,er my grandmoot very ill. Donald, who was at a very, very critical point in his development as a child, wasia essey abandoned by her. Us he may not entirely women. He finds it difficult, if not impossible, to connect with them on any deep level, because i dont believe he ever was able to with her. W when you ask him about she showed her love, he has nothing to say. The mplexity of that relationship, i think, plays ouh ugh all of his relationships with women throughout his life. With one wife after another. Theres a, an inabily to reach any recognizable level of intimacy. Narrator young donald had his own crisis finding his place in a family domited by his fath, fred, a stern and demanding al estate developer. Itrongly suspect that he father that accounts fothis of what he became. Er and his father was abrutal guy. He was a tough, harddring guy who had very, very little emotional intelligence, to use todays terms. Onalds fathers overall message to his children was and it was a very different message to the boys than to the girls to the boys, was, compete, win, be a killer. Do what you have to to win. Narrator inside the family, a harsh game of apprentice who would take over freds empire . Th first in line wasnt donald, it was his older brother freddy. My father was sensitive, he was kind and generous, he liked hanging out with his friends who adored him, and, maybe worst of all, although its hard to say, he had interests outside of the Family Business. My grandfather understood none of that. Narrator their father said freddy wasnt a killer. He wanted to fly airplanes for a living. Donald thought that was crazy. D he cot understand why fred did not go into the Family Business and be a builder like their ther was. But fred wanted to be a pilot, and donald looked at that and said, well, thats sort ofve like being a bus d why would you want to be a pilot . Narrator donald watched as freddy was cast out. My dad couldnt do anytng right, and my grandfather made his life miserable. He was frustted, and he began to realize that he, it wasnt going anywhere. Ra nr his life ended early in alcoholism and poor health. Through the years, donald would take a much different path. He wanted to avoid my fathers fate of, u know,an abushumiliation at the he took that lesson to. Narrator he was determined to live up to his fathers ideal be a killer. trumpet fanfare plays ha narrator but he was also tempestuous, impulsive. And 13, his father sent him to military school. students chanting he must have said, ts kids going to grow up in a tough worl really tough world. If i want him to succeed, hes going to have to be tough. He talks about it as almost this rite of passage. He said to me that when he arrived at the military ademy, for the first time in his life, someone slapped him in the face when he got out of line. Narrator it would be a fiveyear lesson in how to be a bully. Donald trump yelled at his classmates. Even used a broomstick as a weapon against classmates who hedidnt listen to him whe told them what to do. All of us were part of this culture of, you beat on kids when they didnt do the right thing. You got h. You may have gotten slammed against the wall. You were put in, in. You got put artificially into fights. Uh. He became a leader of the cadets. He became one of the studenta leaders who hamber of kids under him in thele dormitories, and he the dormitory life with an iron fist. Narrator inside that brutal world, donald had und his place. His mother told me that hesi was never ho. He loved it. He loved all that stuff because it was also really competitive. Other kids didnt really like him all thatuch. He wasnt that popular because he was so competitive. He was always looking for the edge. But it was, it was an environment that he thrived in. Narrator with his ther and mother by his side, donald graduated. Hed become a killer, learned the power of bullying to get ahead a method hed carry into the future. military students chanting o beepin countdown stammering hope to p. Teach p. E. Two s. stuttering on s uh, s. Sisters. Well, my. Father is very strict. Among the many causes of retarded speech are low intelligence, hearing loss, emotional conflicts, poor methods of the teaching of talking by the parents, ain injury, and many others. For example, a child may stutter as he comes out of the earlype stages of retardedh. Narrator joey bidens crisis was stuttering. He came of age in a, another time, in which people. Y stuttering so. Werent as open about disorders or disabilities or setbacks. When the common. Prescription was. Buck up. Deal with it. Narrator dealing with it a roughandtumble childhood cain delaware, his father salesman fallen on hard times. R fottle joey, catholic school. Nuns. He had an assignment he had to memorize. He had to stand up and delivercl it in thsroom. Narrator the words were in front of him sir Walter Raleigh was a gentleman. When joe readt, it went. claps out rhythm sir Walter Raleigh was a gentle man. Say that again . Mmm. Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentle man. And this went on three times. He id gentle man instead of gentleman. And. The nun said. imitating nun mr. Bbbbbiden, whats that word . And this is a person in a. Position of authority, this is a person whos meant to protect you. It was so embarrassing and so enraging th biden walked out of the room, he walked out of the school. He walked all the way home. car motor stas narrator jys mom, jean, marched him back to the school to confront his teacher. The sister starts telling her how disrespectful joe is, e said, just tell me, did you make fun of my son . Well, i. Sister, did you make fun of my son . Well. He and my msaid, well, ill answer it for you. You sure in hell did. R, and if you ever, ever do that again, im going to come back and im going to knock your bonnet right off your head. Do we understand each other . R stuttering is a f problem. The person feels fear, shame, guilt, tension hes always worried about what might happen. Ht he met into a situation, not be able to say his name, or the telephone rings and he cant answer it. I was surprised at how often this subject came up during my time with him. It helped me understand that so much of who he is comes back to that. That people are ready to make fun of him. At people will laugh. Ridiculed, he was hellonrassed, biden would stand in front of his bedroom mirror holding as ight to his face, and he would recite yeats and emerson. Narrator he kept pushing against the stutter, the bullies and it paid off. People liked to be around him, he really had a presence. You knew him when he walked in. He was a little taller than most, and in very good shape. He was a star Football Player on their team. Narrator joey biden found another way to fight back politics. In high school, hes president of his senior class. Hostly, thats when he gets a taste for it. The stutter is still part of him during his senior year in high school, where he has to introduce his family at the, at gduation, and he has to erand up there and not stu and say this publicly. And he does it. We want joe we want joe narrator in thcrisis of stuttering, a life method persevere. Just pusthrough. More medical research to diseases like cancer, and. Ing not the end in, um, um, in themselves. The uaw took ex credible cuts in their future. Many people would say bidens stutter is among his most visible weakness, if not number one. But its also a source of his strength. Its also. The main source of his grit and his. Determination to just be there, competing. News with walter cronening good evening. For seven months, new yo city has teetered on the brink another piece of new york fell by the curbside today for who knows how long. Narrator by the 1970s, new york city was in crisis. As part of the strugglee to keep city from going bankrupt. K new yorcity suddenly comes apart. The city, for the first time, was losing population, as well as jobs. And losing its economic base. siren wailing new york was in tatters then, but there wereev opportunitieywhere you looked. The new rk city of the early 1970s was made for someone like donald trump. Narrator in that crisis, 25yearold donald trump saw a chance for personal gain. He was struggling to make a name for himself, break out of his fathers shadow. Donald, from a very younge, anted to exceed his father and go into manhattan and be the success that his father hadnt been in terms ofet notoand fame. Why . Whats going on . Oo narrator trumphis shot. It started with a rudown hotel. Near Grand Central stati the Old Commodore Hotel was in such sorry shape that it ha boardedup windows, it had rodents all over the place. It was one of the markers of new yorks sorry decline. And trump saw this as a grand opportunity. In new york city, the rate of unemployment is much higher than it is. Narrator it was an enormous gamble, but with the city on the and so the city continues to stagger beneath the weight of its multiplying fiscal problems. Ru narrator believed new york was desperate enough to pay him to transform the hotel. If the city would gather around with us, we can produce, with a lease, guaranteed by the state of nework, a new york city lease. Narrator but he was new to manhattan. He needed a guide. Found roy cohn. Roy, who was a ughandtumble fixer democrat, power within the Democratic Power structure in c new yoy, close friend of rimayor abe beame, close fd of carmine desapio, the boss of the Manhattan Democratic Party i think he was, like, rld of manhattan. Or to the narrator cohn had been disgraced for leading mccarthyera wch hunts, but trump saw him as a killer. Roy cultivated image as a bulldog. From tarring opponentsentop him doing illegal things his pride and joy was bullying people and bribi people and making deals behind the scenes. He was a fixer. He was a connector. Roy cohn was the kind of mast of the dark arts. He was the person who helped shape trumps approach to life. What he learned from roy cohn was never apologize, always attack. Attack the character of your opponents, that theyre somehowa cious, that theyre somehow doing the devils deed here. And, and lethe public know that. That was roy cohn. Narrator cohn knew just how to get the tax breaks trump needed tbuild his hotel. Roy cohn, because of his unique positiong within new york city at that time, was able to pull certain strings, to get tax breaks. Or narrator newk taxpayers would be on the hook for more than 400 million. He is able to set up this deal, which the state bills as a special new program, but isnt a special new program. It is just a giveaway to donald trump, a tax giveaway. Its been a long, hard fight. How do you feel . Well,m very happy, and i think the city of new york is going to be very happy. Narrator he transformed thed coe hotel. With cohns help, trump had his advantage. Sis, used it to the mayor and the governor of new york were among those on hand for the ribboncutting ceremony. He got it done. Hi got it done by bulling way through, by pretending to have more backers than he really had, by pretending that he was oftually putting large sum money into it when he really wasnt. Uh, and the con worked. Hehe got the money, he got permits. He got it done. You use deception, you use. Intimidati you use all of the tactics that you can find. It is a utterly transactional sense of the world. S and wha it for me . Is kind othe founding credo. One of the things that donald learned from school of dad and school of roy was that almost everybody has their price. Er what. It might not necessarily be dollars, although it often is. It might be some vulnerability. That wont be reveal but roy said that almost, everyoeres a pressure point. Narrator it would become trumps playbook exploit crisis, in business, in life, in politics. Kennedy, kennedy, kennedy, kennedy, kennedy, kennedy, kennedy for me narrator joe biden also had a role model irish, catholic, goodlooking. Joe emulated what he could. Kennedy wadrawn to politics, biden was drawn to politics. Jack had a photogenic wife and children. Joe had a photogenic wife and children. The kennedys had a family compound at hyannis port. The bidens would have a family compound in wilmington, delaware. Joe biden waslways fascinated by the kennedy mystique. Ea hey saw himself as a natural heir to that tradition. Im joe biden and im a tendidate for the united s senate. Politicians have done such a job on the people that the people dont believe themnymore, and id like a shot at changing that. Ut narrator ilmington was no hyannis port. We, the bidens, we had no money. We had no power or influence. Kn we didn anybody who was a big name who could help us. Hi, how are you hi, how are you . Joe bidens my name. Narrator like the crisis over his stutter, his political start was a struggle. Behind in the polls, facing a powerful opponent united stat senator cale boggs, an joe biden asked me aboutixon. Getting involved in his campaign. By i started ofelling him at theres no way you can win. Cale boggs was the candidate for the senate. Hed been a twoterm congreman. Twoterm governor. Twoterm sator. He was beloved around the state. So i said that he couldnt win. Audacious is a good term tn apply to back then. This is a guy who wasnt yet old enough to hold the seat. Wa narrator ia time of crisis in the country. The vietnam war had divided americans. Opposition to the war in demonstrations in sevemajor cities. Narrator . Igniting social unrest. In delaware, racial tensions boiled over. The National Guard was lled out in several cities to put down riots. One of these cities was wilmington, delaware. Narrator black residents were angry. Joe biden saw an opportunity to draw on his personal experience with race back when he was 19, working at an innerci pool. He was a lifeguar he was one of the two white guys. He was a tall, sli uh. Younglooking, goodlooking, elvis presleylooking kind of guy. Thats how he got to know some of the guys who were in the gangs. T he just seemhave a natural instinct for getting to know people, getting to understand them, but not being afraid to be around them. We became friends. We became friends. I was a very troubled child. Okay . Leader of a gang, no food at home, elecic cut off, no soap sometime no soap and water to take a bath, no hot water. Narrator joe and ricky he likes to be called mouse forged a lifetime friendshipr afating a shared demon they both stuttered. Understand, back there for black, black folks back those days, when y stuttered, you was retarded or you was, orre yo something was mentally wrong with you. Id start with. So he basically told me, go to the mirror, look at yourself, pronounce your words. Go and put your voice on tape. Well, my words did change. Te i streading the papers from the back from the back to the forth, back and forth. Narrator mouse introduced joe all around the neighborhood. Over the years, biden kept in touch, building relationships in the black community that would pay off. He would go through thisiz persong with people. I never really heard him say, im going to change the community. Igoing to deal with employment. Im going to deal with. You know, the typical polician mess that you hear. I ofways tell people, be war any politician who tells young hes go create jobs. Hes lying to you. Some peop are in politics because theyre in love with policy, but theyre noty necessar love with humans. G he loves te of it. He loves the dance of it. He loves meeting people. He loves hugging strangers. Narrator it became his goto strategy. President nixs landslide didnt help the republicans. Method worked. Nd in 1972, that some of those who did lose had been considered the most certain to win. Narrator the black community helped make joe biden a winner. In delaware. Ha narrator by less 3,000 votes. Whipped by 29yearold joseph biden. It was very close. St and people werl surprised, you know, how this even happened. On all of you have something that the political pundits said there was no way in the world it could be done cheering that ght, all the college kids were so excited. A lot of us went to the hotelll du pont om. And it was packed, packed. And there was so much excitement in the air. I saw this woman coming through the crowd, and i realized that it was neilia, joes wife. And so i walked up to her, and i shook her hand, and i said, uh, congratulations on your win. Ou and she said, thankery much. And that was our exchange. The war of the trumps has ignid a battle of the tabloids. The unfolding saga of trump versus trump. A highoctane mix of the narrator they called it the divorce of the century trump versus trump. It was on page one, page two. I likened it to world war iii. I never saw publicity equal to that. Repor linking trump to a bevy of beauties. S narrator this time it a crisis donald created himself. Passed as the other woman. Narrator hed been cheating on his wife, ivana. He was in a real crisis, and there had been scandal after scandal in the tabloids. His children were sobbing, ivanka was sobbing, donald, jr. , was apparently not speaking to his father. And donalds mother said to someone who was very close to her, i dont know who my n is anymore. Narrator the marriage that produced the divorce of the century had begun more than a. Decade befor at a trendy new york bar. She was a model out on the town with friends. Donald came up and introduced himself. Hi, im donald trump, and ing see that youre ha problem getting a table. So he went over to the maltr, ll, next thing you know, the girls had a table. Narrator an immigrant from czechoslovakia, she was going places. What fred trump would call a killer. The interesting thing about ivana is, i consider her to beio every bit as amb as donald, and every bit asd commit remaking herself or creating herself. Narrator ivana zelnikova had become mrs. Trump, but that was just the start. She said to me, oh, you know, im going to go work for donald. Gsaid, what . Youre gett married and youre going to work . I never heard of anything like that. Dont you get married not to go to work . She goes, no, i told him that i wanted a j. Give me any job, i dont care what it is. I cant sit at home. I love toork. I like to see the final product. I just, uh, i dont care what kind of business it is in, or k whd of work it is. Just adore to work. I cant sit home and look up at a ceiling, its just not enough for me. She was driven, too. Driven, driven, driven ivana trump was donalds. Like they were born from the same sperm. Donald and ivana mimicked each other. You know, so they were like a ball of fire. Its Opening Party was one to end them all. Guests thousands of them mingled with le cliques. Narrator together, they headlined trumps biggt real estate project trump tower. And as he expanded into Atlantic City, she became c. E. Of one of theasinos. In manhattan, she took charge of the iconic plaza hotel. But it would not last. Ivana, in t beginning, that was great, it was very refreshing. He had this powerful woman by his side, but it grew tiresome for him. And why did it grow tiresome for him . Because there are no costars in trumps orbit. Theres only one spotlight, and its on hi when things went well, heal became enormously s of the attention she got. Oo and when things wenty, he became extremely angry and owinsulting and vindictived her. Narrator during ivanas renovation of the plaza, trumps rentment boiled over. We came in and saw the finished room, and the first thing, he didnt like the furniture, and he arted cursing out ivana. And he pulled the drawer off a piece of furniture, was so angry. I, i i never saw him so angry in my life. He was very scary that day. He was very, very angry. Do you all argue . Narrator in public, trump made it clear how he felt. Wshould have world recordsetting fights. But we really dont. We get along very well, d there is not a lot of disagreement, because ultimately, ivana does exactly laughing, exclaing see, wait a minute. Malchauvinist. Right, right, men . Is that right . Huh . applause cameras clicking narrator in the eye of the tabloistorm, ivana said she was doineverything she could to hold onto her life d her power. She starts weeping. And i said, ivana, what is it . And she says, you, you dont w knowt its like. You just have to deal with him when you work for him. I have him 24 hours a day. And i felt so terriblyorry. I mean, she really did everything she possibly could to please donald, and i think she got the short end of the stick. A marital split between the billionaire builder. He wants out. Theres rumor of another woman. And the wounded wife. Narrator b for trump, the crisis was madetoorder. He leaked stories to feed the media firestorm. One of the things he really learned from roy was the manipulation of the celebrity press, the socalled society press page six, e daily news. He plays them like a piano. New yorks tabloids, having a field day, report. These tactics and techniques that he learned over time, that he picked up from roy cohn and his father, and everything he gleaned from those peopled could be direc the closest people in his life,in uding his wife. Narrator his personal crisis taught trump another life lesson never share power again. Esidency. Seen it in trumps when aides become too out front in their own righthe reacts in ways that sort of shoves those figuck down to maintain the role of primacy that he not onlyeeks, but needs. Narrator hes 30. Joe biden had it all. Three children, wife neilia at his side, about to take a seat in the senate. I was assigned to do aong, long piece on him. Something like, you know, young mr. Biden goes to washington. Thats when i spent a good bit of time with joe. D and i nch with neilia in the course of doing this story, and i just thought to myself,pl you know, this c you know, really has everything. Its a love story. He met her on a beach in spring break in college. L, they fithin days, madly in love. Neilia was the love of his lifend it was really a happilyeverafter tale. Until it isnt, abruptly. Nrator biden and his sister val were in washington setting up the office, hiring a staff, we crisis hit. The phone rings, and val gets it. And biden is sort of payingat ntion, and then he really starts paying attention when he sees her face. I got a call from jimmy biden. And he said, come home, now. Theres been an accident. And neilia was in the car, theth station wagon, witthree children, beau, hunt, and naomi. Neilia was literallygi br home the christmas tree, with the kids in the car, the three kids in the car. siren blaring narrator campaign yers from the car helped identify the bodies. She was hit broadside by a tractor trailer. And she and naomi, who sat behind her in the car seat, they died instantly. And beau and hunter were seriously injured. And he. He knew, he knew. He knew from the look on her face. Mbrother looked at me and said, shes dead, isnt she . And i said, i dont know, joey. I did know. Jimmy told me. Narrator his sons were in the hospital hours away. The pain cut through like a shard of broken glass. I began to understand howo despair led peoplest cash it in; how suicide wasnt just an option, but a rational option. In six short weeks, he went from being on top of the world to being a young widower, a father of two children, and a single dad and a man with, you know, a brokeneart. Nartor he got to the boys; they were all that was left. Broken hips, leg arms, beau was all cut up and hunters skull was fractured. Ce she accident, biden himselfs been living in a hospital in wilmington, delaware, takingare of his sons. Today, the senator took his swearingin ceremony. Oc joseph biden, dt of delaware. Narrator somehow, biden pulled it together. They held a swearingin ceremony at the hospital. It ans a lot to me. I appreciate it, and i hope that i can be a good senator for yall. I make this one promise, that is months or so, theres a conflict between my being aan good fathebeing a good senator, which i hope will not occur i thought would, but i hope it wont i promise you that i will, will contact governorelect tribbitt, as i had earlier, and tell him that we can always get another senator, but they cant get another father. Narrator the road ahead for joe biden would be tough, like theight against stuttering and the uphill political battle. Si once again, in c he would persevere. Er vs going to help raise the children. Hes going to have a job in washington and home in wilmington, and hes going to ride that train back and forth. Hes going to be home for dinner every night with h kids and his sister. And thats going to be the family unit. Its not the one he chose, but thats going to be the one. You dont lose a wife and child at the point in life that he did and not grow from it. You learn from those kinds of experience what you do, though, is, like, uh, muhammad ali said one time, ive never been knocked down. I was always been getting up. So joe just never been knocked down, hes always been getting up. For some people, the ultimate goal. Narrator the question wasas firsd on tv when he was 34 years old. Would you like to be the t president United States . I really dont believe i would, rona. But i would like to see somebodt as the presiho could do the job. Narrator the question would not go away. Politica president ial talk to me, and i know people have talked to you about would you, would you ever . Probably not, but i, i do get tired of seeing the country ripped off youve been hinting that you could do it better and you do intend to run for president at some point . No, im not going to run for president. Yeah, but if you wantg somethne right. Do it yourself. audience laughter not only does his ego g fed, he gets a nice note from richard nixon, ws seen him on television. Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the donahue show. She predicts that whenever you decide to rufor office, you will be a winner donald proudly framed this letter and showed it to me at the time we were working together on interviews. Narrator hed made his marko in manhattan eing an economic crisis. Now hed take on ather crisis and raise his profile yet againc it ishristmas eve in new york and the talk of the town is not peace on earth, but the violence among us. Vigilante who shot and wounded four you men over the weekend. To have it happen in new york city, unbelievable. In the new york city version of a racial lynching. G the man is dead, somebo to go to jail r that. No justice no peace narrator crime and racial tensions we tearing new york city apart. And not one killing, a hundred killings, are gog to stop us from going where we wa to go. Narrator trump seized on one headline. Life after a brutal attack in central park. She is a white wall Street Investment banker, her black attackers being called animals in the media. Theavage beating and gangke rape has prooutrage in a city filled. It is the ages of the accused, 14 to 17 years old, and the horror otheir alleged crimes that has caused a furor. The defendants are about to have their two months in court. Raymond santana, yusef salaam, antron mccray. In they arely through. Theres a rush to judge because theres a rush to solve the crime. Narrator yusef salaamser arrest was at the cef the storm. We became what was wrong. We became expendable. Rump saw this classic tabloid story. He saw his role and his position instinctively. New in his heart that those guys were bad. Narrator as in so many other areas, his attitude towards r. Ce was shaped by his fat he was being raised by a father who was discriminating against African Americans in the very first apartments with the trump name. He was raised in a setting where the people of color and theop black that he saw were people who were working for him it was his fathers driver. They were just a very racist family, you know. People of color, you know, particular, jewish peo women we all considered fair game. And, you know, racism, antisemitism, and misogynymy were very common i grandparents house, and. It was just the way it was. Trump took out fullpage ads in four city. Narrator trump took thear extraordstep of buying a fullpage ad in four new york newspape. Trumps newspaper adss contribute to the ci racial polarization. E havent even gone to trial yet. Two weeks passes, and we are essentially given a death sentence. With this they shoulde executed for their crimes. Wa i them to understand our anger. I want them to be afraid. And then he signs his name at the very bottom. People dont sign their name to things that theyre not proud of. The ads are basically a very strong a vocal. They are saying, bring back law and order to our cities. This ad was a whisper into the darkest, most sinister parts of siety. You Better Believe that i hate the people that took this girl and raped her brutally. You Better Believe it. And its more than anger, its. Hatr and i want society to hate them. Trump found a way to insert himself into the story, to signal where he was on these issues. And began to learn the lesson that if you can capture a that fea you can becomese the champion f tfraid people, that theres a lot of political opportunity in that. Hey hey ho ho all the racists have to go narrator in the process, trump had touched a nerve and found a sympathetic audience. Ive never done anythingth s caused a more positive stir ive had 15,000, 15,000 letters in the last wk and a half. I dont know of more than twoor hree that were negative out of 15,000. Hes learning how to dip his toe in and out of these remarkably racially incendiary issues. Hes learning how to dog whistle, hes learning how to signal, um, and also learning how to do that while keeping a little bit of distance. D more thanade later, new information has blown the case. There were cheers in a new york city urtroom today. Ns tut they apparently got the wrong guys. The central park five were reased from prison. It turned out another man entirely had done this rape, and these kids were innocent. Theyd been not only publicly onerated, but officially exonerated. Narrator but trump would not apologize then, nor over the years when the subject came up. We went to prison f a crime that we didnt commit. Not been apologized to from thee people who harmed us in that way, thapolitical way, right . Narrator it was part of the roy cohn plak that trump continued to use fan the fireso of div get what you want, mo on. You can almost draw a Straight Line from what he didfi with the central par to then onto birtherism. Thin donald trump that makes him drawn to those kinds of issues very, very divisive issues that are aimed at a particular part of the electorate othe population, that, in one way or anothe stir things up. Thank you very much. He cs and applause narrator after 14 years inwa the senate, joe bidegoing for the big one running for president. It was a family affair. The boys were older now. He had remarried, haa new daughter. You know, he said, lets just test the waters. And so i said, all right. I mean, it sort of just really, before we evenit. Nto it, narrator but as he campaigned, he headed towards another cris stemming from a persistent question what did he stand for . I think thats always been one of his challges. As he tries to go for president , he casts about for what he wants to say. He casts about for the issues he wants to put forward, and what he wants to say he believes in. And it, and it feels cast about. Narrator then, one day, a video. A story that would give him something to say. Why am i the first kinnock in a thousandab generations to b to get to university . Narrator obsessed with the tape, biden studied it. He later wrote, the ad was riveting; i couldnt take my eyes off neil kinnock. Was it because they were weak . Those people who cld work eight hours underground and then ak . E up and play football . Biden could put himself into the neil kinnock story, family in scranton, pennsylvania, and so, in a sense, hebed the kinnock story and making it his own. The Campaign Begins in earnest with the first votes fo the next president wa. The candidates spent much of yesterday fanned out. I narratoiowa, duri the primary, he took kinnocks words, made them his own. And now mr. Biden. Thank you very much. I started thinking as i was, coming over hehy is it that joe biden is the first inmi his ever to go to a university . H he got up there agave his speech, and he got to the end, the last three minutes, ant he gave kinnock,e did not attribute it to kinnock. Is it because they didnt work hard . My ancestors whoorked in the coal mines of northeast pennsylvania and would come up afr 12 hours and play football for four hours . Joe biden borrowed it and applied it to hiown life, and made a moving sort of aria, a movingort of part of a speech about his own life, which in eifact had been taken from kinnock. I hope youll consider me. Thank you ve a much. That concludes the economics for america dete. Democratic pridential candidate joseph biden today faces a controversy. Biden seems to be claiming kinnocks vision and life as his own. Narrator it became front page news. Ug biden has been wita sudden embarrassing comparison of his recent campaign speeches. The firsexample came from great britain. Why am i the first kinnock in a tusand generations to be able to t to university . And i started thinking as i was coming over here, why is id that joe is the first in his family ever to go to a university . Narrator his Campaign Said it was a mistake, that he had cited kinnock other times. Me for a second n two weeks. Narrator but then, the avalanche. He looks like aoe biden windup doll, with somebody elses words coming out. Narrator allegations of failing to cite a source in a law school paper. Pgiarized aaw review article. Narrator taking lines from his political idols, the kennedys. One from John Kennedys inaugural,thers from Robert Kennedy their words from the lips of joe biden. When he was accused of plagiarism, we felt that, you know, his character was being attacked. And it sort of took us back. Thank you for coming, i apologize for not being able. Narrator in trouble, biden tried too what hed always done. I did not say, to paraphrase neil kinnock. I shld have. Narrator apologize. I should have known it was Robert Kennedys quote. I did not know that. Narrator admit hisak mi. Ive done some dumb things. And ill do du tngs again. Narrator persevere. But ill tell you one thing. My learning curve is moving on this president ial race. And i wanna tell em all im in this race to stay, im in this race to win, and here i come thanks a lot, folks. applause narrator he thought he could put it behind him. But then. His does not mark the beginning of a better week for senator joseph biden. Today hes havinto defend what he has said in public about his record at law school and what the record really shows. One real quick question, what law schl did you attend and where did you place in that class . Narrator insulted,is anger was on full display. I think i probably have aha much higher i. Q. You do, i suspect. I went to law school on a full s academolarship. Joe bidens always been very sensitive to the perception that hes being disspected. And when that happens, those are the moments when he tends erupt. The only one in my, in my class to have a full academic scholarship. And, in fact, ended up in the top half of my class, i won the International Moot Court competition. But Syracuse University Law School Records released by biden just last we show he sought a partia not full, scholarship, for finaial, not academic reasons, that he finished not in the top half, but 76th out of 85 students. Joe biden comes off as elsomeone who has a lot of confidence, but obviously, theres an imposter syndrome dynamic at work here. Because if you feel li you have to make up stuff about yourself and invent stories that are not your ownand then do it in such a selfdestructive way in which you can be caught, that speaks to a level of character, anrtainly insecurity,ng that is common amo a lot of politicians. Delightful to see you all here. You know my wife, jill. Pulling out of the 1987 president ial race was really devastating to, to joe and to me and to our family. The exaggerated shadow of those mistakes has begun to obscure the essencof my candidacy and the essence of joe biden. He recognized that this was a fatal blow to his hopes of winning the nomination i1988. I think it was a very painful decision. Thanks, folks, my wife and i thank yory much. Narrator biden lost this delaware senator jo biden dropped out of the hunt. Oe biden blames mostly himself. Narrator he returned to the nate, continued his meth persevered through it all. Real estate developer donald trump opened his new casino, the taj mahal, in Atlantic City today. Is this the eighth wonder of the world . Sh the taj maes as trumps slickest deal. Narrator the biggest crisis of Donald Trumps Business Career began with one git bet. It certainly represented something bigger andolder and probably what was going to be the greatest statement ever made in Atlantic City. And so, it was a big deal. It was a big deal to donald. Th narrator the casino wa size of two football fields. Trump said he spent 14 million on chandeliers. His bet 1 billion. people talking in background people were mobbing donald. I was shocked, i couldnt believe that, you know, aski him for his autograph and everything. I mean, he hadust catapulted into this rock star. Narrator in tv reports, trump bragged that he was the reason the taj would be a success. He aj mahal needs to make over 1 million a day to cover expenses. Trump says his business sense and ego will make it happen. Egos an interesting thing. I mean, ive always been referred to as somebody with a big ego, but i really believe that ive never met a successful person without a very large egou and ifont have a big ego, youre not gonna be successful its as simple as that. Arrator ego was central to trumps method, but there was Something Else posive thinking. Ni a teche hed learned withan his father at this mttan church. It was the place to be seen for business leaders, socialites, politicians, and the trumps. Every sunday, he would show up at Marble Collegiate Church to gto Norman Vincent peales services. Ld the god who made this w was a wise god he wants people who live life d like it. Love it. I think part of it was this at you could achieve anythingad, you wanted there was nothingu. That could stop narrator peales book, the power of posive thinking, taught followers visualization, envisioning the world that they wanted. One reason that the positive thinker gets positive results is, he is not afraidf a problem. Its this Toxic Positivity that perfectlyit in with what my grandfather already thought. Everythings great, you know, and if you think that way, then everything w great. The problem is, everything is not always great. How, then, can you face the future with confidence . The three influence donald trump, as i sometimes describe them, are school of dad school of fred trump school of roy y cohn and school of Norman Vincent peale. Narrator it was peales kind of outlook that carried trump into Atlantic City, with the vision of his name in lights trump aza, trump castle, then the billiondollar trump taj, paid for with junk bonds. I dont think donald trump spent one minute worrying about debt. If he introduced doubt into his life, the whole, the whole thing would unravel. Narrator trump was warned repeatedly he was headed for disaster. But he dismissed the warnings. Hearing bad news. Lly like an optimist sometimes is so optimistic that they dont want to hear anything, that even if theyre heading right off a cliff, they might not want to hear the news. What woies some analysts is the amount of junk bond debt trump has incurred to build the taj mahal. Narrator inevitably, reporters began to question whetr trumps vision could b profitable. Trump says he believes they wi. The taj mahal is going to be a tremendous success. Narrator thats when trumpke turned to roy cohn lesson attack the media. Ie when cnn trd to pursue some of theseatters with trump, is is what happened. Do this interview with somebody els we talked about this yesterday on the phone. This is exactly what we talked about. Somebody else, really. Th you dont ed this. Do it with somebody else. Itand have a good time wit because frankly, youre a very negative guy and i think its very unfair reporting. Good luck. Its just classic denial. If youre an expert and you agree with donald trump, youre a genius, but if youre an expert and you disagree with him, youe a loser. Narrator he ignored the experts, but they had been right. Trumps casino business will file for bankruptcy next month. Narrator trumpsasinos deared bankruptcy. The word is, youre bankrupt. Narrator after bankruptcy. All three casinos are facing bankruptcy. Narrator aft bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Narrator the collapse of the casinos devastated trumps investors and Atlantic City. Bankruptcy is a situation wherpeople are losing, they getting pennies on the dollar. The banks clearly lost out. So did the pple of Atlantic City, who lost jobs, who lost their tax base. Thats what happens in a bankruptcy and thats what happened in these Atlantic City bankruptcies. Narrator but trump, as always, refused to admit failure. That is sort of norman h vincent peald on tenaciously, hold on to this image of yourself as successful. Never let go of it. Never let the idea of faile enter your mind. I aall it a beautiful puzzle. Narrator the crisis inal atlantic cit solidified another method trump would come to rely on. I know more about isis than narrator believe iselfe. Over experts. The experts are terrible. Thok at the mess were in all these experts that we have. Narrator reject the naysayers. We have it totally under control. Its one person coming in from china. Narrator declare victory no matterhat. And we have it under control. Its going to be just fine. President bush said he has no doubt Clarence Thomas will be confirmed to the u. S. Supreme court. Thomas will try to persuade e senate that he has. Narrator 1991. Joe biden, now the powerful o chairmthe Senate Judiciary committee, was facing his biggest crisis yet allegations against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. It this affharged that thomas sexually harassed a former employee, anita hill. Good evening, we begin tonight with the potential for political explosion on citol hill. Clarence thomas ran into trouble today. Questions are growing over charges of Sexual Harassment against thomas. It seems to have been a nitmare for joe biden. As a man, he felt uncomfortable about it. As a white man, he felt uncomforble taking Clarence Thomas, a black man, on about it. Um, and the whole subject matter just made him incredibly uncomfortable. Another witness has come forward against thomas. News of a second woman who onceorked for thomas. Narrator biden was at first reluctant to have hill testify, but the sts exploding. There were actually three other won, other than myself, who were willing to testify, who had actually said they calledof senator bidence and, and offered their own testimony. Narrator Angela Wright offered her own stark allegations against thomas, which thomas denied. He asked me, in one situation, what size breasts, my breasts were. Nt he told me he to date me. This is a man who has, who, in my opinion, has often spoken inappropriately to women. But Committee Chairman biden conceded tonight that new information about the allegations has come in. Pr narrator with thsure mounting, biden agreed to let the women testify. The hearing will come to orde welcome, professor hill. Professor, do you swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god . I do. Ou thank y narrator bidens committee was all white men. The men of the senate, as they were called. As there w not a single woman who might have understood her story from a womans point of view. Can you tell the committee what was the most embarrassing of all the incidences that y have alleged . I think the one that was e most embarrassing was his discussion of, opornography involving these women with large breasts and, and engaged in a variety of sex withr different peopleimals. Embarrassed me the most and made me feel the most humiliated. Hes kind of in the middle of the road. Always heard that the hingive in the middle of the road is and that you have to tripes. Position and you have to decide what youtand for. He didnt know whose side to thank you. N. My time is up under our agreement. Let me now yield to my friend from pennsylvania, senatorte sp narrator bidens close friend, republican arlen specter, led the charge against hill i find the references to the alleged Sexual Harassment not only unbelievable, but preposterous. Ca narrator h doubt on her memory. How reliable is yourct testimony iner of 1991 onig events that occurred, ten years ag narrator he suggested shege was exting. You took it to mean that judge thomas wanted to have sex with you, but in fact he never did ask you to have sex, correct . No, he did not ask me to have sex. That s an inference that you drew . Yes, yes. My, my red light is on, thank you, very much, professor hill. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator, thank h you, professl. Joe biden allowed members of that committ to grill professohill in a way that was inappropriate and humiliating. He could have done something tos provide her wie support, some comfort. But that didnt happen. Narrator biden gave Clarence Thomas the last word. He strongly denied theon allega this is a circus. Its a national disgrace. And from my standpoint as a black americanas far as im concerned, it is a hightech lynching for uppity blacks by a committee of the u. S. , u. S. Senate, rather than hung from a tree. Very powerful. I mean, what it did was, it shamed these white senators. And it certainly seemed to shame the democrats, who had just been accused of lynching a gavel bangs narrator with that, bidend mo wrap up the hearings. Angela wright and the other women accusinghomas would not testify. Hed end up voting against thomas, but his handling of the hearing damaged him politically. It made himhe face of an outoftouch body. And really wounded his prospects of a future run for president. He had some work to do, he had some reputational rehab to do. Narrator biden turned to his method for survival in crisis acknowledge the problem and repair the damage. Joe is always able to say, yeah, i didnt handle that quite right. Let me see what i can do better the next time. Carol Moseley Braun has entered politicahistory. Shes the first African American woman elected to the u. S. Senate. Big changes her a kind that have history written all over them. Narrator fixing tngs began by recruiting the first black woman elected to the United States senate. Un b anger over the Clarence Thomas hearings turned her into a candate. Narrator biden wanted to make sure moselebraun joined his committee. I made a joke, which he didnt think was funny at all. I said, you just want anita hill on the other side of the table. He did not laugh. He didnt think it was funny. And he still probably doesnt. laughs narrator but he convinced her and Dianne Feinstein to joi, the commiteginning, once again, to rebuild. My names donald trump, and im the largest real estatek. Developer in new y i own buildings all over the place, model agencies, the Miss Universe pageant, jetliners, golf courses, casinos. Narrator having prevailed in spite of personalnd was now making crisis s brand. For 14 seasons, he played the role of a mogul, a he were still one in real life. His financial dynasty toppling like a house of cards. Narrator in the wrecka of Atlantic City, trump had changed course. Today, it means trouble. Gold. Narrator and doubledown on what had been a Side Business celebrity. Hes always saw himself as a ttential tv or entertainm star. Its another part of his, his personality, is, he likes toe an entertainer. Narrator on tv. Its the donald, oh, my god yelps softly e exc, wheres the lobby . Narrator movies. Down the hall and to the left. Hanks. The donald is here. Narrator in the ring. Ay he always the same character himself. laughs wildly oh, my god the hostile takeer of donald trump. Hat he was selling was a brand. Learned that he just had to keep being relevant. About, even if it meangng talked notorious. Narrator they built a false boardroom on the vacant fifth floor of trump tower. My first time meeting donald trump, we walked into the boardroom, we were seated. And about 20 minutes later, the cameras starting rolling and donald trump walked in. The show transformed donald trump into this persona. Oka folks, im really busy today, so were going to go quickly. W almost completely redeemed the preapprentice as a little treat, youre going to see the nicest apartment in new york city, its my apartment. In ways that are so substantial and so deepseat be in the picture, i couldntnot see him running for president. Narrator every episode was a crisis. Youre fired ure fired. Youre fired. Youre no longer with us youre fired. I have to say youre fired. Please, please. I have no choice and i have to say that youre fired. Narrator the carefully choreographed drama hooked the audience, keeping them coming back for more. S whate, the ethos of reality tv . Its that fighting is the best state human life. Its that life is a competition. Its zosum. For you to win, somebody else has got to lose. Donald trump. Narrator donald trump had become a reality tv star inside millions of homes every week for years and years. After the apprentice, he was donald trump on steroids, you know . laughs its, like, this guy was bigger than life. He was everywhere. Reality tv show host u. S. President . Nrator it was time for trump to take his brand to the next level. Donald trumps recenthite house flirtation has gone above and beyond. Narrator he would run fot. Presid he recognized that entertainment is now a central part of american politics. Donald trump actlly decided that he had learned abything celebrity and entertainment and ratings from having en on the apprentice into a president ial campaign. Ra narr his announcement mirrored the apprentice. It was staged just like a Celebrity Apprentice thing. We had staged one the Celebrity Apprentice things in that same place, the camera angles were the same, the lighting was the same. He understood the drama of coming down the escalator. The orchestration of it recognizes his showmanship. Hes a swman above all. A crowd filled out with, yes, with aual actors who were simulate enthusiasm fom and play a role in a similar way to the wathat he was playing a role. Ladies and gentlemen. I am officially running. cheering for president of the United States. And we are going to make our narrator the developer who went bust, the reality tv star, was on his way, harnessing the power of crisis and conflict, ime over reality. Another day, another eny in the president ial race. Delaware senator joe biden is the ninth democrat tjump. Narrator it was 2007. Joe biden was running for pr ident, again. But that very day. It sure isnt easy running for president these days. Narrator it all blew up. This was not a good day for joe biden, was it . No, it really wasnt, katie. Just got into the race today, and no sooner than he did, he talks his way into a nationalontroversy. Spent much of the day discussing these comments he made to a newspaper reportert abnator back obama. I mean, you got the firstst sort of maam africanla american who is arti and bright and, and clean, and a nicelooking guy, i mean, its, thats a storybook, man. Some people listening to those descriptions of obamaic aate, clean heard racial overtones, or, at the very least, condescension. I think when people heard the clean and articulate line, there was a wave of eyerolling, certainly among African Americans. Itas the kind of wellintentioned but benighted commentary that you expect from people who inhabit environments where there arent very manyth black people, anUnited States senate has historically been a pme example of that. Tonight, hicampaign is doing damage control. Narrator hed been here before damage control kinnock, anita hill. Joe bidenspologizing for a remark he made about senator barack obama, saying, i deeply reet any offense. Narrator he followed the playbook apologize, persevere. This is the daily show with jon swart. cheers and applause nice to see you. Do you want toalk about the comments, specifically, that have generatetheco roversy . Well, yeah, sure, i mean. No, i dont want to talk about it. laughter the philadelphia inquirer, yesterday, you were quoted as saying, the one lesson i learned from my previous president ial run is, words matter thats right. and you cant take words lightly, and then you came our with this one, aht, here you go. Listen to this one, this is great. Barack obama, i mean, you got the first mainstream African American whos and a nicelooking guyand clean i mean, thats a storybook, man. exclaiming well, let mthtell you sog, i try, i spoke to barack today. I bet you did. laughter i also spoke to jesse and al sharpton and, and, and. And michael jordan, and anybody you could get your hands on. The jackson five who else . Michael didnt call me. Michael didnt call me. It was a render that this was somebody who was capable of doing those kinds of things, wha was, i ways, his own worst enemy, whether it was becausehe he, he didnt knowto stop speaking or because he could say things in the ment that would get him into trouble. S the latest newsat joe biden is dropping out the race joe biden is dropping out. Narrator once again, joede s campaign would collapse. But he wasnt taking himself out of t game. Hed make it personal build a relationship with obama. Out of competition came Mutual Respect, and Mutual Respect led to a real relationship, a friendship. And joe biden became somebody that president obama looked to for advice and counsel. Senator. people talking in background you are not going to t anything out of me on the vice pridential thing nothing narrator soon, that relationship would pay off, as obama sought a running mate. I am gonna y that ive, ive made the selection, and thats all youre going to get. I think obama really liked the ideaf choosing the guy who had said these things about him, that so many other people found offensive, of showing this kind of magnanimity around racial issues and racial his winning. T i think was key narrator obama asked him toa president. Ticketvice at the house in wilmington, the biden inner circle gathered. Hwas not going to do it. I mean, theres no doubt he was not going to do it. And we had another one of thosem famitings and a few key, key people. The kids said to me, mom, you have to talk dad into running. And i said, joe, this is such a great moment in history. His ma said, well, well, she said, well, joey, youre telling me that the first history thinks that you canin saying no . T elected, and youre game, set, match, it was over. laughs barack obama is projected to be the next president. Senator barack obama ofno il. Narrator hed turned a political crisis into a relationship, and became Vice President. He had already squared away in his mind that he understood that barack obama was president , joe was Vice President. And joe understood the job of Vice President and, and, uh. And woret well. Narrator in the obama white house, biden brought with him something the president didnt have relationships in congrs spanning decades. These were his recently former colleagues, and he knew that he could call them and they would take his call, and that he could go and thrash issues out with them with a degree ofco ort that president obama didnt have, because he hadnt known them as long as Vice President biden. Narrator biden became obamas trusted partner. The real question isnt what thing did you do, if youre Vice President. The real question is, how much influence did you have . Ani think biden understands power and leveraging power. G i think he haduine relationship with obama, and they spent a lot of time talking. But i think he was a very influential Vice President , in that way, and an extremely loyal Vice President. N narrator turn, obama bestowed on biden something specia a kind of political sainthd they called the obama haloen joe bas the obama halo, everybody ows that. That is the cleansing of joe biden and everything that may have happened. And there is such a great irony, that someone who was the architect of the 94 crime bill, and a white man of this age, when you think about anita hill, his crutch, his. The reason for his success is a black man with a funny name whos kind of skinny from hawaii by way of kansas cowardice are you serious . Apologies for freedom i cant handle this narrar 2015, Donald Trumps president ial campaign, a madefortv spectacle. cheers and applause a showcase with all the conflict and crisis. Turn them go ahead, turn them. Go ahead. Knock the crap out of them, would you . Seriously. Just knock the hell. I promise you will pay for the legal fees, i promise. cheers and applause youve called women you dont like fat pigs. Only rosie odonnell. laughter by the time trump arrives, running for president in 2016. How does my hair look . Is it okay . crowd cheering he. Nderstands conflict, he understands celebrity. He understands the power of levision. And he understands how to dominate. Narrator and against his opponts another strategy h had perfected personal attack. Little marco. This little guy has lied so much. Lyin ted. You arehe single biggest liar, you probably are worse than jeb bush, you are the single biggest liar. All of this is classic trump. This is the person hes been, i think, sin he was five years old. Donald told me that he is essentially the person he was in first grade, and that he hasnt really changed. Narrator but a month before the election. The trump camp has swiftly launched into disaster mode. To nar a bombshell. A big, Big Development in this campaign. That day, were up in theor 25th fonference room, and its friday afternoon, about 2 00. And hope hicks was notified by the media that they had donald trump having a conversation with billy bush that said a number of incendiary things, and they were going to pubsh the transcript. She got this transcript. Y,d shes, like, about to she goes, h, this is terrible. Narrator the trump team watched it online. Whatever you want. laughs like, whoa boom, that thing hits. In video, its pretty powerful. So everything shuts down. Everybody and everybodyev isnt quitybody, but most people both in and outside the campaign thought it would end his candidacy. Donald Trumps Campaign its worst crisis ever. The future of a campaignst that is in dirits. I think the question now is, how do republicans break away from h . Narrator Trumps Campaign was in free fall. E reince priebus, airman of the Republican National committee, confronted trump. Reince priebus basically said, you need to get out of the race. And donald trump said, no. He said, im not getting out of the race. Not only am i not getting out of the race, im going to go and run, im going to win. Narrato he would ignore the political experts. In that momt, he won the presidency. There was a 90 chance we were going the other way that day, from the night before, from the pressure that s on him and everything like that. And thats what a leader does. I narratothe midst of crisis, he turned to what he had learned from Norman Vincent peale, roy cohn, his dad, reality tv. I could stand in the middled of fifth avenue oot somebody, and i wouldnt lose any voters, okay . Its, like, incredible. Narrator he went on the atck. Every women lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Narrator . Changed the subject, stoking racial division. And we will keep radical islamic terroris the hell out. Narrator . Economic fears. We are going to renegotiate our terrible trade deal. Narrator . Frtration with washington. It is time to drain the damn swamp. Narrator . And making big promises. We will build a great wall cheers and applause and we will make America Great again cheers and applause donald trump will be the 45th president of the United States. Narrator amidst outrage and anger, he won the ultimate prize and stayed true to his playbook. I think what donald trump learned from his entire rufor president is that he could really only count on himself. He needed to rely on his own political instincts to figureto out hoove forward. cheers and applause narrator through the obama years building racial tension, outrage over Police Violence against African Americans. In gunshots, sho get out of the car, dude sirens blaring narrator then, news of a revenge shooting against the police. We begin night with breaking news. A Deadly Police shooting in new york city. Two new York City Police officers are dead following an ambush saturday afternoon. They were, quite simply, assassinated. Amateur video captured the frantic scene, as paramedics desperately tried to save thewe lives of officerian liu and rafael ramos. Narrator as the Vice President , joe biden oftenie tackled controve and in matters of race, particularly, obama relied on him to walk a fine line he could not. One of joe bidens chief responsibilities was to be an ambassador to the country, specifally to the white parts of the country, where Barack Obamas presence might have only further inflamed the situation. N rator now biden was dispatched to new york. 25,000 policefficers are all there. Nrator it was tense. A sea of blue filled the city streets. Narrator Police Officers lined the streets as bid arrived. Thousands of nypd officers lining the streets outside of the funeral service. O when we g of the cars, you could see that this mass of police had changed him. F thousands oople lining the streets. Gathered shoulder to shoulder at a queens, new yk, church to say farewell to a fallen. Whilee had understood the gravity and the sensitivity, i dooft think it really hit an us until we saw the tens of thousands of police there. Narrator he used his method keep it personal, talk directly to the family of officer rafael ramos. Our hearts ache for you. I know from personal experience that there is little anyone can say or do at this moment to, to ease the pain, that sense of loss, that sense of loneliness. Joe biden has been defined ia public life bybreak and empathy. That when joe biden steps up at the funeral, you know that thos tears al. That the time will come. Co the time wil when rafaels memory will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes. Thats when you know its going to be okay. I know its hard to believe itll happen, but i promise you i promise you it wppen. Its an odd role in public life to known as a Person Associated with grief. Ne and joe bider wanted to be that person, actually. Own political future. Gined his taps playing bubecause of his life, he ended up being this public political symbol of suffing and of resilience. Em and eventually haced it. But he actually didnt want to be that. taps continues narrator that day, there was unfinished business. Nt biden to see officer wenjian lius family. We came out of the church. And joe id, i want to offer my condolences to him, as well, to them, to that famil siren beeping wa hed to go and meet them and talk with them. So the Police Worked it out so that we could visit. And they had a translator there. I can remember walking up the stairs with the, with an interpreter. And the family was all crammed. Into this tiny kitch and we sat and we talked to them. And we must have been in there, dont know, a good hour. I started to notice tt wenjian lius father had rarely left my side. Occasionally, he would lean into me so that his shoulder touched my arm. Thank you, he kept saying. Thank you, thank you. We went out on the sidewalk. And the father, o didnt even speak english, i mean, just held on to joe. And, i mean, he was so grateful that joe had come to offer condolences to the family. We stood there for a longwh e, embracing on the little sidewalk in front of the house where he had lived with his on son, just two fathers. I unrstood all that he wante me to know. Nartor after decades in politics, biden seemed to have finally found his place. But soon after the crisis in new york, a personal crisis yet again. pipes and drums playing biden was burying his own son, beau. pipesnd drums playing he was the apple of bidens eye. He was not just someone who he thought was brilliant and a successf so proud of him. It went beyond pride, it was almost like, hes the perfect version of me. Narrator beau had served in iraq. He was attorney general of delaware. They talked about the presidency someday. Joe often describes him as joe 2. 0. And he looked like his dad, he as his father he was very sets charismatic, he was charming, he was funny. Narrator but then, brain cancer. Death at 46. Beau biden, former delaware attorney gener and eldest son of Vice President joe biden, died. Vice president bidens office was the first to announce his sons death. Vice president was with his son beau when he passed away tonight. Very sad news, beau biden lost his battle wi brain cancer. Family d friends gathered at st. Anthonys church in wilmington yesterday to pay their respects some waited in line for up to six hours. Lines, lines ve blocks long outside the church. Narrato at one point, after several hours, a surprise. There was mr. Liu and his wife. And they came to, uh. Give us comfort. As itust two men, really, who had gone through something horrible, um, just offeringmf t to one another. Ath, biden had been beaus considering another run for president. On now the quesas not just would he, but could he . I was, happened to be in obamas white house, and he walked in. And i honestly. It was almost like i didnt recognize him. This was shortly after beau died. He just looked like he had agede years ans in such a short amount of time. Narrator through cris and tragedy, joe biden had his eyes on the presidency, but now, in grief, he would decide to stand down. I, donald john trump, do solemnly swear. Narrator from the veryd beginning of donalumps presidency, he ignited crisis. Ursts, sirens blaring shouting this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. sts a crisis; donald truof president he United States. Now mes the hour of action. Theres been enough talk. Narrator week one a traveli ban aimed at mcountries. A scene of outrage at jfk airport inew york. Protests, outrage, and backlash. To me, it just felt like continuing chaos. Ea north kill be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. Nartor ongoing threats to other nations. There was no effort to say, what are the priorities here . And i think he makes decisionsge quickly and can chhem very quickly, too. And, uh, it sometimes could be 180 degrees ofhat he had decided just a few hours before. Earrator and just like apprentice firings, turmoil, confrontation. Weve had reality tv framing for the presidency. If y see the serial exits of people who, you know, really had built significant careers only to be kicked around and then ejected unceremoniously. Reince priebus, sean spicer, anthony scaramucci, john kelly, general mattis. People who were just kinda chewed up and spat out. Humiliated in the course of it, in their interactions with trump. Fbi investigation, was there collusion. Narrator overshadowing it all, allegations of collusion with russia, obstruction of justice. Russian collusion, give me a break. Ac President Trump ning outrage after firing comey. I did you a great favor when i fired this guy, i tell ya. Im not concerned about anything with the Russian Investigation because its a hoax. Thats enough. Put down the mic. Re mr. Dent, are you narrator he lashednts. Breaking news, the white use in crisis. The Justice Department appointed a spial counsel to investigate. This is a pure d simple witch hunt. Afirst blush, maybe he really hates it and hes annoyed by the mueller investigation, or the media attacks, or this or that. But wh you look at iher, he sort of enjoys the jousting, he enjoys the fighting. Narrator it was the presidency roy cohn had prepared him r. He learned from roy cohn attack, never apologize, seem to be in charge was true then, t and e today. Wait a minute. Im not finished, fake news. Narrator he was determined to be what his father had called a killer. They are very, very dishonest people. S. Fake n narrator three years of chaos would culminate in impeachment. To be impeached. The absolutely crazed lunatics the democrats, radical left. Di narrator hwhat he always did. Are pushing the deranged impeachment witch nt for doing nothing wrong. He only has the one playbook. He uses it no matterhat the crisis. Shadow of impeachment. It dnt matter when the casinos went bust. It didnt matter when his whole financl empire seemed to collapse. He was able to maintain the brand. And so he ratchets up the anger. He ratchets up the insults. cheers and applause narrator and in those first years, it seemed to work. This is what the end result is. D cheers plause it really wasnt, in my opinion, until the. S. Senate voted for acquittal on the two impeachment charges that donald trump finally had a small air of breathability. cheers and applause we can take that home, honey, maybe well frame it. laughter its the only good headline ive ever hadn the washington post. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very muc thank you. Narrator he had unified the party behind him, left his imprint on the supreme cou, delivered tax cuts, undermined shingtons institutions. My grandfather remains donalds audience of one. Its to him donalds continually trying to pre himself. White lives matter white lives matter it whe lives matter chanting contins narrator for the first timea in decades, joe bidea private citizen, watching Donald Trumps presidency. Then ca charlottesville. That was really the tipping point. When he heard President Trump say, there are very fine, some very fine people on both sides,t as it. That was the tipping point. Narrator in the streets, violent clashes between White Supremacists and counter protesters. Its rd to believe, based on his own statements, that joe biden doesnt see some level of personal responsibility for the rise odonald trump. Joe biden was the Vice President and he chose not to run for esident. You have to imagine thats weighed pretty heavily on joe biden. Narrator he decided to do something about it. At 76 years old, he would reverse course run one more time. He was seen as yesterdays news. He was a very rickety ship. He wasot as eloquent as he was 30 years ago, like most people wouldnt be. And he also, you know, he was saddled with a very, very long, recome of it going back to the 70s. From nbc news. Decision 2020 the Democratic Candidates debate. Narrator in those early tedays, his long, complicad record was a liability. Im going to now direct this at Vice President biden. You opposed busing. And, you know, there was a little girl in california who tegrate her public schools,s to every day. S bused to school it wasnt about theficse. Of the busing bate. It was a signal. At it was saying his is a white guy who is so old that he was taking a position on bing in the first place. But, Vice President biden, do you agretoday do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in america then . Precisely because he has such a long track record in american politics, you capoint to him being on the wrong side of questions thatre now considered to be completelyd. Sett first of many rough nights on meanwhile, innning reversal, joe bidens campaign struggles to match rival president ial candidates in fundraising. Numbers are down among tsmen, down among independ the drop is primarily among younger voters. Narrator he struggled toer excite v. Vice president joe biden, struggling in the polls here. Joe biden is his campaign in trouble . He always had, joe ben, and it wasnt working. The truth is, he does not have some transformational or different vision for theun y. Its a, its a tough campaign for him. J biden presently trailing in fourth place. Surprised how bad joe biden did he fled the stage. One of his senior advisers had to call him and have what she described to me as the conversation you never want to have with a candidate, which is, we may be approaching the point of having to shut this thing down. Joe biden is fighting for hiv political su. Narrator but he wasnt giving up. Joe biden desperately needsli south ca if he has any chance. Narrator his last hope. Makeorbreak time in f particul joe biden. Narrator . South carolina. It all rests on south carolina. S joe biden hnt a lot of time in soutcarolina he can relate to south carolinians. South carolina was very, very important to joe biden. Joe, joe, joe narrator to win, he desperately needed the black vote. cheers and applause oroe bidens been around f a long time. People are comfortable with him. They get him, they understand him. Even ithey dont agree with him, they thk hes, you know, a goodfaith actor. A community of people who have been betrayed and oppressed and tricked and li to, someone who you can trust at their word, that goes a very long way. Oh, my lord narrator it was what he had done in that first senate race making it personal, connecting. O nbc news is pjecting former Vice President joe biden is the winner. Narrator they ve biden a victory. Was reinvigorated largely by black voters in this state. Joe biden wins big. Nrator three days later. In a political earthquake, these are the results nobody saw coming. Narrator . He rode the momentum and dominated super tuesday. He pued off one of the biggest political upsets in modern political history. Narrator soon, he won it all. cheers and applause s in its own way, i culmination of all of his training and ambition and his mistakes and his regrets and his attempts to be better. And it, and it came together. At last. Biden has made his pick. Narrator and when the time came. And the pick is in. Narrator . The man who had made plenty of mistakes. Historic decision announced via textnd twitter. Narrator . And asked for political forgiveness, turned to him on the campaign tre after. Kamala harris as his running mate. Narrator . Kamalaarris, and picked her as his running mate. African american communitp will help him to the white house. It was an opportunity for him to distinguish himself from donald trump. Tngt i actually want to bri the person whos criticized me most harshly into the fold because i lue dissenting opinions. And that was part of the message that was being sent with kamala rris. The growing worries response to the deadly coronavirus. Wuhan, china, thats th epicenter. Wuhan, china. Narrator the pandemic. A nation in crisis. Now under lockdown. The philippines confirmed its first death. France is confirming. Italy is taking unprecedented. Thiis italys darkest hour. Narrator a threat donald trump was trying to play down. Deadly coronavirus officially hitting the u. S. Worldwide, including at least 12 confirmed. A tragic turn in the coronavirus outbreak, the first death from the disease. Narrator he used the Norman Vincent peale approach visualize what you want to be true no matter the facts. Thank you very much. It is what it is. T. Were ready for it. You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, uh, thats a pretty good job weve done. overlapping chatter as the country deals with this wor pandemic, theyre seeing in a man that doesnt see any problems. He always sees a rosy, brightat future, and e can succeed. Theres no question that in the first several months of 2020, staff on the nsc and the centers for Disease Control were raising red flags about what wan hag in china the president was determined not to hear any bad news. We have done an incredible job. Were going to continue. Its going to disappear. One day its like a miracle it will sappear. This unwillingness to think about the implications meant nnthere was no strategic pg ing on, because that would have meant acknowledging we were facing a severe threat. And he simply did not want to do that. Empty streets lead to packe Emergency Rooms across new york city. Paralysis in this typically vibrant city in just a matter of weeks. Narrator as the death toll rose. Fema sent 85 refrigerated trucks to new york city to holdv the people wperished. Narrator . He doubled down. Now the democrats are politicizing the coronavirus, you know that, rht . Coronavirus. Theyre politicizing it. Very roy cohn. Very school of dad. Very Norman Vincent peale. Just insist that youre successful. Insist that what youre doing is right. Now, what o you say toamericans who are wu right now who are scared . I say that youre a terrible reporter. Ths what i say. Go ahead. A i think itery nasty question. And i think its a very bad signal that youre putting out to the arican people. Thats part of this playbook double down, triple down, say any problems are somebody elses fault. sirens blaring, radio chatter narrator and in the midst of the pandemic, once again, racial stri. wailing t get up and get inhe car. Get off of him now what is wrong with all . Bro, hes not moving did they muted kill him . Narrator george floyd, killed by police. sirens blaring and that opens the floodges. I cant breathe i cant breathe i cant breathe chanting continues what we saw in the days and weeks to follow that was the confluence of these multiple factors. He deeply, deeply frustrated black lives matter movement, of a particularlyncendiary video. No racist police no justice, no peace ho h these racist cops have got to go that movement was cognizant of the fact thatrump had consistently talked to policeem aggressively. Ehave more i cant brehe i cant breathe t narratomps Approval Ratings were plummeting. Protesters were massing outside the white house. You are the threat you are the threat you are the threat narrator in the rose garden that day, he would go to his playbo fan the flames. Our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, olent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminalsrioters, antifa. What trump is trying to do is change the sject that antifa, um, is, is the new enemy. Donald trump likes to find enemies, and to hold those up as, that he is the protector against those. A s we speak, i am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, militare onnel, and Law Enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults, and the wanton destruction of property. Narrator as he spoke, a choreographeshow of force across the street from the white house. crowd shouting im sitting on the corner of pennsylvania and 17th street. I cant breathe i cant breathe and itart coughing, and choking, and i start wondering whats going on. crowd shouting and i look up and its, it clouds ots t officehrowing some sort of chemic gas that is making my throat and my eyes burn. And i see peopleunning. explosions, sparks, shouting . And this line of Police Officers coming, and theyre clearing the streets. D anim completely confused, because im wondering, why is the white house doing this . Nartor then the president left the rose garden for a dramatic tv moment. distant sirens blaring i felt badly for some of the people who were in that march. Ve and ive said i probabouldo, have gone along; how am i going to say no . And then i would have felt very badly about it later. But thats an effect trump has on people. cameras clicking really, its just a picture its just an image of a president being in charge. And thats his vision of what the president is the guy in charge. distant siren blaring hes just in charge. cameras clicking narrator for joe biden, the nationisis gave him an opportunity. May history be able to say that the end of this chapterf american dkness began here, night. As love and hope and light join in the battle for thsoul of the nation. Narrator one last chance to see if making it persona persevering in the face of adversity can prevail. This is a battle we will win ll do it together. Narrator for donald trump, a lifetime of conflict hadep pred him for yet another fight. And this election will decidh her we will defend the american way of life or whetheri we will allow a l movement to completely dismantle and destroy it. Narrator another chance to see if turning crisis to his advantage can carry the day. Together, we are unstoppable. Together, we are unbeatable. Narrator now a deeply divided nation will decide. Policy is not the choice thats on the ballot this year. It ia choice of character. It is a choice of temperament. It is a choice of persona and personality. Thats always a factor in ourpr idential campaigns. But i dont think its ever been as big a factor as it will be in november. Go to pbs. Org frontline for the last frontline transparency project. Explore 60 interviews from the making of th film. There was no Strategic Planning going on. Joe had just never been knocked down. Hes always been getting up. And listen to a conversation with director michael kirk on our podcast the frontline dispatch. So we looked long and hard at all of the things that have happened in their lives. Connect witfrontline on facebooand twitter, and watch anytime on the pbs app or pbs. Org frontline. Frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbsom station iewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation foric puroadcasting. Major support is provided by the carthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. The Ford Foundation g workth visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide at rdfoundation. Org Additional Support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in urnalism. The park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. And by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. Captioned by Media Access Group at wgbhgb accessorg for more on this and other frontline programs, sit our website at pbs. Org frontline. Ho thee 2020 is available on amazon prime video. [bright music] s american portrait is. A platform where anyone can come and share. Theres a whole great list of prompts to get you started. Eden i was 18 and join the marine corps. When i decided to accept myself and excel. And its been an amazing journey ever since. This projectan help bring us together. To listen to each other. Re to understand whatally means to be an american. You should be a part of pbs american portrait. Because your story is powerl. Because it may inspire a change in life for others. And the american story wouldnt be complete without your story. To join, go to pbs. Org americanportrait join us, and be a part of history. And remains selfforgiveness, and thats a struggle that ill be on for the rest of my life. I never lose sight of the harm that ive done to people, because ive hurt all sorts of pple with my bare hands. And then, i dont know how many angry white kids i recruited and et got them comply whipped into a frenzy, and then set them out loose in society to go and attack people. Its exponential, and thats not even thinking about the music that i made, whitepower skinhead music, which is still out there, and its screaming at people murder each other caus of th. Arno i neve oever wanna let myselfff the hook fothe people that ive hur Christian Picciolini the mantra was something that white