Transcripts For KQED Frontline 20240712

We refused to let this journey end. That future is our destiny. Narrator the president s they would beme. , Barack Hussein obama, do solemnly swear. We have to heal the divides in our country. I am your voice. Arrator and now on frontline. That the end of this chapter ofmerican darkness began here. Narrator the choice 2020. Ntline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from 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, committe to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. The Ford Foundation working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change wodwide at fordfoundation. Org Additional Support is provided by t abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. The park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of crical issues. And by t frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. Overnight, growing natial unrest. Narrator with the nation in crisis. Mo. Sowing chaos in cities across the nati. Narrator . This is the story of two candidates forged in their own crises. Political pundi said there was no way it could be done if the city would gather around with us. Narrator . Personal tragedies. An aumobile accident killed the wife and baby daughter of biden. Narrator . Public controversie. Trumps newspaper ads contribute to the citys racial larization. Narrato. Challenges that shaped them. Anita hill comes to washington. G the donald is fac incredible cash crisis. I cant breathe i cant breathe narrator . And show how they would lead a country now in cris. Together, we are taking back our country. Narrator the choice 2020. In a battle for the soul of america. Arrator trump vs. Biden. America wants to know co w to america wants to know. Im ernie anastas, and this is the. In 1992, i hosted a special show in new rk where viewers asked a lot of questions about many, of course, wereies. Interested in donald trump, and what he was like as a young boy growing up in queens. Ch i managed to cp with donalds parents, mary and fred trump, and asked them, what was donalds favorite game as a child . He played monopoly. Yes, indeed. He liked to pla he played with his brother. Uhhuh. Ro he played witrt, but more than monopoly, he played with building blocks. 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, my grandmother got verill. Donald, who was at a very, very critical point in his development as a child, was essentially abandoned by her. He may not entirely trust women. I he finds it difficulnot impossible, to connect with the, on any deep leecause i dont believe he ever was able to with her. When you ask him about how she showed her love, hhas nothing to say. The complexity of that relationship, i think, plays out througall of his relationships s with women throughout hilife. With one wife after another. Theres a, an inability to reach any recognizable level of intimacyra nr young donald had his own crisis finding his place in a family dominated by his father, fred, a stern and demanding Real Estate Developer. I strongly suspect that he had a relationip with his father that accounts for a lot of what he became. And his father was a very brutal guy. He was a tough, harddriving guy who had very, very littleot nal intelligence, to use todays terms. Donalds fathers overall h message 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 ke over freds empire . The fit in line wasnt donald, it was his oer brother freddy. My father was sensitive, he was nd and genous, he liked hanging out with his friends who adored him, and, may worst of all, although its hard to say, he had terests outside of the Family Business. My grandfather understood none of that. Narrator their father said freddy wasnt a killer. He wanted to fly airplanesli for ng. Donald thought that was crazy. He could not understand why fred did not go into the Family Business and ba builder like their father was. But fred wanted to be a pilot, and donald looked at that and said, well, thats sort of like being a bus driver. Why would you want to be a pilot . Narrator donald watched as freddy w cast out. My dad couldnt do anything right, and my grandfather made his life misable. He was frustrated, and he began to realize that he, it wat going anywhere. Narrator his life ended alth. In alcoholism and poor through e years, donald would take a much different path. He wanted to avoid my fathers fate of, you know, abuse and humiliation at the hands of his father. He took that lesson to heart. Narrator he wadetermined to live up to his fathers ideal be a killer. trumpet fanfare plays ha narrator but he waalso tempestuous, impulsive. And at 13, his father sent him to military school. students chanting he must have said, this kids going to grow up in a tough world, really tough world. If i want him to succeed, hes going to have to be tough. This rite of passage. As almost he said to me that when he arrived at the military academy, for the first time in his life, someone slapped hiin the face when he got out of line. Narrator it would be fiveyear lesson in how to be a bully. P donald trlled at his classmates. He pushed them around. He eveused a broomstick as a weapon against classmates who didnt listen him when he told them what to do. Allf us were part of this culture of, you be on kids when they didnt do the right thing. You got hit. You may have gotten slammed against the wall. U re put in, in. You got put artificily into fights. Uh. He became a leader of the cadets. He became one of the student leaders who had a number of kids under him in the dormitories, and he ruled the dormitory life with an iron fist. Nrator inside that bruta world, donald had found his place. His mother told me that he was never homesick. He loved it. F he loved all that stcause it was also really competitive. Other kids didnt really like him all that much. 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 father and mother by his side, donald graduated. The power of bullying to getd ahead a method hed carry into the future. military students chanting beeping on countdn 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, brainin ry, and many others. For example, a child may stutter as he comes out of the early stages of retarded speech. Narrator joey bidenser crisis was stug. He came of age in a, another time, in which people. stuttering softly . Werent as open aboutie disorders or disabilor setbacks. stuttering en the common. Prescription was. Buck up. Deal with it. Narrator dealing with it a roughandtumble childod in delaware, his father a car salesman fallen on hard tis. For little joey, catholic school. Nuns. He had an assignment he had to memorize. St he had td up and deliver it in the classroom. Narrator the words were in front of him sir Walter Raleigh was a gentleman. When joe read it, 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. E 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 mea to protect you. It was so embarrassing and so enraging that biden walked out of the room, he walked out of the school. Th he walked alway home. car motor starts narrator joeys mom, jean,ma hed him back to the school to confront his teacher. Ts the sister stelling her how disrespectful joe is, and my mother, stop. She sa, just tell me, did well, i. Of my son . Sister, did you make fun of my n . Well. And my mother saidwell, ill answer it for you. You sure in hell did. And if you ever, ever, ever do that again, im going to come back and im going to knock your do we understand each ead. Stuttering is a fear problem. The person feels fear, shame, guilt, tension. Hes always worried about what might happen. He might get io a situation, not be able to say his name, or the telephone rings and he cant i was surprised at how often time with him. Ame up during my it helped me understand that so much of who he is comes back to that. At eople are ready to make fun of him. That people will laugh. Narrator bullied, harassed, ridiculed, he was hellbent on beating the stutr. Bid would stand in front of his bedro mirror holding a flashlight to his face, and he would recite yeats and emerson. Narrator he kept pushingst against thter, the bullies and it paid off. People liked to be around him, he really h 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. Ethonestly, thats when hea 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 graduation, and he has to stand up there and not stutter, and say is publicly. And he does it. We want joe oe narrator in the crisis of stuttering, a life method peevere. Just push through. More medical research toue confer to codevastating diseases like cancer, and. Not the end inum, um, in themselves. Thuaw took ex credible cuts in their future. Many people would say bidens stutter is among his most visible weaknesses, 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. This is the cbs ening news with walter cronkite. Good evening. For seven months, new york city has teetered on the brink of financial disaster. Anoer piece of new york fell by the curbside today for who knows how long. Arrator by the 1970s,in new york city was risis. As part of the struggle to keep the city fm going bankrupt. New york city suddenly comes apart. Rs the city, for the time, was losing population, as well as jobs. Ts and losingconomic base. siren wailing new york was in tattersen but there were opportunities everywhere you looked. The new york 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 naml for hi break out of his fathers shadow. Y donald, from a veng age, wanted to exceed his father and go into manhattan and be the success that his father hadnt been in terms of notoriety anfame. Why . Whats going on . Shot. Rrator trump took hi it started with a Rundown Hotel near Grand Central station. The Old Commodore Hotel wasy in such soape that it had 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 brink. A so the city continues to stagger beneath the weight of its multiplying fiscal problems. Narrator trumpelieved new york was desperate enough to pay him transform the hotel. If the city would gather aroundith us, we can produce, with a lease, guaranteed by the state of new york, a new york city lease. Narrator but he was new to manhattan. He needed a guide. He found roy cohn. O roy, s a roughandtumble fixer democrat, power within the Democratic Power structure in new york city, close friend of mayor abe beame, close friend of carmine desapio, the boss of the manhattan democratiche party i thinas, like, donalds ambassador to the world of manhattan. Narrator cohn had been disgraced for leading mccarthyera witch hunts, but trump saw him as a killer. Roy cultivated an image as ao bu nothing, nothing would stop him from tarring opponents or even doing illegal things. His pride and joy was bullying people and bribing people and making deals behind the scenes. He was a fixer. He was a connector. Royohn was the kind of master of the dark arts. He was the person who helped shape trumps approach to life. What he learned from roy n cohn wer apologize, always attack. Attack the character oyour opponents, that theyre somehow malicious, that theyre somehow doing the devils deed here. And, and let the public know that. That was roy cohn. Narrator cohn knew just how to get the tax breaks trump needed to build his hotel. Roy cohn, becausef his unique positioning within new york city at that timewas able to pull certain strings, to get tax breaks. Narrator new york taxpayers would be on the hook for more tn 400 million. He is able to set up this deal, which the state bills as a special new program, but it is just a giveaway aldam. Trump, a tax giveaway. Ar its been a long, fight. How do you feel . Well, im very happy, and ik the city of new york is going to be very happy. Narrator he transformed the commodore hol. With cohns help, trump hadve thin crisis, used it to his advantage. The mayor and the governorng of new york were ahose on hand for the ribboncutting ceremony. He got it done. He got it done by bulling his way through, by pretending to have more backers than he really had, by pretending that he was actually putting large sums of money into it when he really snt. Uh, and the con worked. He got the money, he got the permits. He got idone. You use deception, you us intimidation. You use all of the tactics that you can find. It is a utterly transactional nse of the world. And whats in it for me . Is c kind of the foundido. One of the things that donald learned fr school of dad and school of roy was that almost everybody has their ice. Whatever. It might not cessarily be dollars, although it often is. It might be some vulnerability that wont be revealed. T roy said that almost everyone, theres a pressure point. Narrator it would becomepl trumpbook exploit crisis, in business, in life, in politics. Kennedy, kennedy, kennedy, kennedy, knedy, kennedy, kennedy for me narrator joe biden also had a role model ish, catholic, joe emulated what he could. Kennedy was drawn to politics, biden was drawn to politics. Wi jack had a photogeni and children. Joe had a photogenic wife andch dren. The kennedys had a family coound at hyannis port. The bidens would have a family compound in wilmington, delaware. Joe biden was always mystique. D by the kennedy he really saw himself as a natural heir to that tradition. B im jen and im a candidate for the United States senate. Politicis ve done such a job on the people that the people dont believe them anymore, and id like a shot at changing that. Narrator but wilmington was no hyannis port. We, the bens, we had no we had no power or inf. We didnt know anybody who was a big name who could helus. Hi, how are you . Hi, how are you . Joe bidens my name. Narrator ike the crisis over his stutter, his political start was a struggle. Be nd in the polls, facing a powerful opponent United States senator cale boggs, an ally of president richard nixon. J biden asked me about getting involved in his campaign. I started off by telling him that theres no way you can win. Cale boggs was the candidate for the senate. Te hed been a tw congressman. Twoterm governor. Twoterm senator. He was beloved around the state. So i said that he couldnt win. Audacious is a good term to apply to biden back then. This is a guy who wasnt yet old enough to hold the seat. Narrator it was a time of crisis in the country. The vietnam war had divided americans. Opposition to the war in vietnam has set off demonstrations in several mar cities. Narrator . Igniting social unrest. In delaware, racial tensions boiled over. The National Guard was callec out in severalies to put down rts. One of these cities wasin on, delaware. Narrator black residents were angry. Bi jon saw an opportunity to draw on his personal experience with rac back when he was 19, working at an innercity pool. He was a lifeguard. He as one of the two white guys. He was a tall, slim, uh. Younglooking, goodlooking, elvis presleylooking kind of guy. Kn thats how he g some of the guys who were in the gangs. He just seemed to have 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, electric cut off, no soap sometime no soap and water to take a bath, no hot water. Narrator joe and ricky heo likes to be callede forged a lifetime friendship after beatina shared demon understand, back thr black, black folks back those days, when you stuttered, you was retarded or you was, or youre somhing was mentally wrong with you. Id start with. So he basically tol, go to the mirror, look at yourself, pronounce your words. Go and put your voice on tape. Well, my words did change. I started readg 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 this personalizing wi people. I never really heard him say, im going to change the community. Im going to deal with employment. Im going to deal with. You know, the typical politicias hat you hear. I always tell people, be wary of any politician whoells you hes going to create jobs. Hes lying to you. Some people are in politics policy, but theyre noe with necessarily in love with humans. He loves the gamof it. He loves the dance of it. He loves meeting people. He loves hugging stranrs. Narrator it became hisgy goto stra president nixons landslide didnt help the republicans. Narrator and in 1972, that method worked. Some of those who did lose had been considered the most certain to win. Narrator the black community helped make joe bin a winner. In delaware. Narrator by less than 3,000 votes. Whipped by 29yearold joseph biden. It was very close. And people were still surised, you know, how this even happened. All of you have done something that the political ypundits said there was nin the world it could be done cheering that night, all the college kids were so excited. Nt a lot of us o the Hotel Du Pont ballroom. And it was packed, packed. And there was so muchte exciment 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. Much. E said, thank you ver and that was our exchange. Tr the war of thps has ignited a battle of the tabloids. The unfolding saga of trump a highoctane mix o stuff that sells newspapers. Narrator they called it the divorce of the century rump it was on page one, page two. I likened it to world war iii. I never saw publicity equal to that. Reports linking trump to abe of beauties. Narrator this time it was 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, dona. , was apparently not speaking to his father. And donalds mother said to someone who was very close to her, i dont know who my son is anymore. Narrator the marriage that produced the divorce of themo century had begu than a decade before. At a trendy new york bar. She was a model out on the town with friends. Donald came up and introduced himself. On hi, im dd trump, and i see that youre having a problem getting a table. So he went over to the maltre d, wellnext thing you know, the girls had a table. Narrator an immigrant from inczechoslovakia, she was places. What fred trump would call a killer the interesting thing about every bit as ambitious a to be donald, and every bit as committed to remaking herself or creating herself. Narrator ivana zelnikovaco had mrs. Trump, but that was just the start. He aid to me, oh, you know, im going to go work for donald. I said, what . Youre getting married and youre going to work . I neard of anything like that. Dont you get married not to go to work . N she goes i told him that i wanted a job. Give me any job, i dont care what it is. At i cant siome. I love to work. I like to see the final product. Nd of business it is in, orat what kind of work is. I just adore to work. Upcant sit home and look 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. Eadonald and ivana mimicke 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 biggest real estate project trump tower. And as he expanded into Atlantic City, she became c. E. O. Of one of the casinos. In manhattan, she took charge of the iconic plaza hotel. But it would not last. Ivana, in the beginning, that was great, it was very refreshing. Om he had this powerful by his side, but it grew tiresome for hi and why did it grow tiresome for him . Us bethere are no costars in trumps orbit. Theres onlyne spotlight, and its on him. When things went we, he became enormously jealous of the attention she got. And when things went poorly, he bece extremely angry and insulting and vindictive toward her. Narrator during ivanas renovation of the plaza, trumps resentment boiled over. We came in and saw the t finished room, a first thing, he didnt like the furniture, and he startedg curst ivana. And he pulled the drawer off a piece of furniture, he was so angry. I, i i never saw him so angryi in m. He was very scary that day. He was very, very angry. Narrator in public, trump made it clear how he felt. Cordsetting fights. Rld but we really dont. We get along very well, and there is not a lot ofdi greement, because ultimately, ivana does exactly as i tell her to do. Laughing, exclaiming see, wait a minute. Male chauvinist. Right, right, m . Is that right . Huh . applause cameras clicking r narrato in the eye of the tabloid storm, ivana said she was doing everything she could to hold onto her life and her power. She starts weeping. And i said, ivana, what is it . And she says, you, you dont know what its like. You just have to deal with himou when york for him. I have him 24 hours a day. I mean, she really did sorry. Everything she possibly could to hese donald, and i think got the short end of the stick. A marital split between the billionaire builder. He wants out. Theres rumor of another woman. Un and the d wife. Narrator but for trump, the crisis was madetoorder. Thhe leaked stories to fee media firestorm. One othe things he really learned from roy was the manipulation of the celebrity press, the socalled society press page si the daily news. Ke he plays them li a piano. New yorks tabloids, having a field day, report. These tactics and techniques that he arned over time, that he picked up from roy hn and his father, and everything h gleaned from those people could be directed at t closest people in his life, includg his wife. Narrator this personal crisis taught trump another life lesson never share wer again. Weve seen it in trumps presency. When aides become too out frontr in their oht, he reacts in ways that sort of shove those figures backown to maintain the role of primacy that he not only seeks, 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 a long, long piece on him. Something like, you know, younn mr. Biden goes to waon. Of time with joe. Nt a good bit and i had lunch with neilia in the course of doing this story, and i just thought to myself, you know, this couple, younow, really has everything. Its a love story. He met her on a beach in spring break in college. They fell, within days, madly in love. Neilia was the love of his life and it was really a happilyeverafter tale. Ti it isnt, abruptly. Narrator biden and hisal sisterere in washington setting up the office, hiring a staff, when the crisis hit. The phone rings, and val gets it. T and biden is s paying attentio and then he really starts paying attention when he sees her face. A i gall from jimmy biden. And he said, come home, now. Theres been an accident. And neilia was in the car, the station wagon, with the three children, beau, hunt, and naomi. Neilia was literally bringing homthe christmas tree, with the kids in the car, the three kids in the car. siren blaring narrator campaign flyersel from the card identify the bodies. She was hit broadside by a tractor traile and she and naomi, who sat i behind hthe car seat, they died instantly. And beau and hunter were seriously injured. And h. He knew, he knew. Erhe knew from the look on face. My brother looked at me and said, shes dead, isnt she . And i said, i dt know, joey. I did know. Jimmy told me. R narrais sons were in the hospital hours away. The pain cut through like ad sh broken glass. I began to understand how despair led people to just ch it in; how suicide wasnt justna an option, but a rat option. In six short weeks, he went t from being on top world to being a young widower, a father of two children, and a single dad and a man with, you know, a broken heart. Narrator he got to the boys; they were all that was left. Broken hips, legs, arms, beau was alcut up and hunters skull was fractured. Since the accident, biden hospital in wilmingtonin a delaware, taking care of his sons. His swearingin ceremony. Joseph biden, democrat of delaware. Narrator somehow, biden pulled it together. I they held a sweariceremony at the hospital. It means a lot to me. I appreciate it, and i hope that i can be a good senator i make this one promist if in six months or so, theres ay conflict betweening a good father and being a good senator, which i hope will not occur 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 tou, like the fight against stuttering and the uphill political battle. Once again, in crisis, hwould persevere. Valeriesoing to help raise the children. Hes going to have a job in washington and a home in wilmington, and hes going to hes going to be home nnerorth. Every night with his kids andst his. And thats going to be the family unit. H its not the ochose, 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 experiences. What you do, though, is, like, ive never been knockn. E time, i was always been getting up. T so joe jver been knocked down, hes always been getting up. For some people, the ultimate goal. Narrator the question was first asked on tv when he was 34 years old. Would you like to be the president of the uted states . I really dont believe i would, rona. But i would like to see somebody as the president whoould do the job. Narrator the question would not go away. Political, president ial talk to me, and know people a have talked to yut whether or not you want to run. Would you, would you ever . Probably not, but i, i do get tired of seeing the country ripped off. Ti youve been h that you could do it better and you do tend to run for president at some point . No, im not going to run for president. Yeah, but if you want something done right. Do it yourself. audience laughter not only does his ego get fed, he gets a nice note from richard nixon, whos seen him on television. Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the donahue show. Ev she predicts that wh you decide to run for office, you donald proudly framed this letter and showed it to me at the time we were working together on interviews. Narrator hed made his mark in manhattan exploiting an economic crisis. Now hed take on another crisis and raise his profile yet again. It is Christmas 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 young men over the weekend. Thave it happen in new yo. In the new york city rsion of a racial lynching. The man is dead, somebody got to go to jail for that. No stice no peace narrator crime and racial tensions were tearing new york city apart. And not one killinga hundred killings, are going to stop us from going where we want to go. Narrator trump seized on ond heline. A jogger is fighting for her 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. The savage beating and gang rape has provoked outrage in a city filled. It is the ages of the accused, 14 to 17 years old, and the horror of their alleged crimes that has caused a furor. The defendants are about tohe haveir two months in court. On tron mccray. Usef salaam, they are finally through. Theres a rush to judgeru because theres to solve the crime. Narrator yusef salaams arrest was at the center of e storm. We became what was wrong. We bame expendable. Trump saw this classic he saw his role and his position instinctively. He knein his heart that those guys were bad. Narrator as in so many other areas, his attitude towards race was shaped by his father. Ed he was being ray a father who was discriminating against African Americans in the very fst apartments with the trump name. He was raised in a setting where the people of color and the black people that he saw were people who were working forhe him it was his fs driver. They were just a very racist family, you know. People of color, you know, African Americans in particular, jewish people, women were all considered fair game. And, you know, racism, antiemitism, and misogyny were very common in my grandparenuse, and. It was just thway it was. Trump took out fullpage ads in four city. Narrator trump took the extraordinary step of buying a fullpage ad in four new york newspapers. Trumps newspaper ads contribute to the citys racl polarization. We havent even gonto trial yet. Two weeks passes, and we are essentially given a death sentence. With this ad. They should be executed for their crimes. I want theto 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 and vocal. S they aing, bring back law and order to our cities. This ad was a whisper into the darkest, most sinister parts of society. 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 hatred. And i want society to hate them. Trump found a way to insertms f into the story, to signal where he was on these issues. And began to learn the lesson that if you can capture that fear, and youan become the champion for those afraid people, that theres a lot of political opportunity in that. Hey hey all the racists have t narrator in the process, trump had touched a nerve and found a sympathetic audience. Ive never done anything thats csed a more positive stir ive had 15,000, 15,000 letters in the last week and a half. N i know of more than two or three that were negative out of 15,000. Hes learning how to dip hisn tond 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. More than a decade later, new information has blown the case. There were cheers in a new york city courtroom today. Turns outhey apparently got the wrong guys. The central park five were released from prison. It turned out another man entirely had done this rape, and these kids were innocent. Thd been not only publicl exonerated, but officially exonerated. Narrator but trump would not apologize then, nor over the years when the subject came up. We went to prison for a crime that we didnt commit. L st this day, we still have not been apologized to from the people who harmed us in that way, that political way, right . Narrator it was part of the roy cohn playbook that trump continued to use fan the fires ve on. Ision, get what you want, you can almost draw a straht line from what he did with the central park five to then onto birtherism. I meanthere is something within donald trump that makes k him drawn to thods of issues very, very divisive issues that are aimed at a particular part of the electorate or the population, that, in one way or another, stir things up. Thank you very much. cheers and applause ar ntor after 14 years in the senate, joe biden was going for the big one running for president. It was a family affair. The boys were older now. He had remarried, had a new daughter. Et you know, he said, l just test the waters. And so i said, all right. I mean, it sort of just snowballed, and we were in it, really, before we even knew it. T narrator s he campaigned, he headed towards another crisis stemming from a persistent question what did f he sta . 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 say. Why am i the first kinnock in a thousand generations to be able tget to university . Narrator obsessed with theit tape, biden studie he later wrote, the ad was t riveting; i couldne my eyes off neil kinnock. Was it because they were weak . Those people who could workrg eight hours unund and then come up and play football . Weak biden could put himself into the neil kinnock story, family in scranton, pennsylvania, family in the mines. And so, in a sense, he absorbed the kinnock story and making it hiown. The Campaign Begins inir earnest with the votes for the next president in iowa. The candidates spent much of yesternned out. Narrator in iowa, during the primary, he took kinnocksis words, made themwn. Thank you very much. I started thinking as i was coming over here, why is it that joe biden is the first in his family ever to go to a unersity . He got up there and he gave his speech, and he got to the ad, the last three minute he gave kinnock, but he did not attribute it to kinnock. Au is it b they didnt work hard . My ancestors who worked in the coal mines of northeastnn lvania and would come up after 12 hours and play football for four hours . Joe biden borrowed it and applied it to his own life, and made a moving sort of aria, a moving sort of part of a speech about his own life, which in fact had been taken from neil kinnock. I hope youll consider me. Thank you very much. And tt concludes the economics for america debate. Democratic president ial candidate joseph biden today faces a controversy. Biden seems tbe claiming kinnocks vision and life as his own. Page news. R it became front biden has been caught with a sudden embarrassing comparison of his recent campaign speeches. The first example came from great britain. Why am i the first kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university . And i started thinking as i was coming over here, why is it that joe biden is e first in his family ever to go to a university . It was a mistake, thatdgn said cited kinnock other times. Eks. A second time in two narrator but then, the avalanche. He looks like a joe biden windup doll, with somebody elses words coming out. Nrator allegations of failing to cite a source in a law school paper. Plagiarized a law review. Articl narrator taking lines from his political idols, the kennedys. One from John Kennedys 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. Nartor in trouble, biden tried to do what hed always done. I did not say, to paraphrase neil kinnock. I should have. Ar tor apologize. I should ve known it was Robert Kennedys quote. I did not know that. Nartor admit his mistakes. Ive done some dumb things. And ill do dumb things 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 nartor he thought he could but then. Nd him. This does not mark the beginning of a better week for senator joph biden. Today hes having to defend what he has said in public about his recordw school and what the record really shows. Qu one reak question, what law school did you attend and where did you place in that class . Narrator insulted, his anger was on full display. P i thinkbably have a much higher i. Q. Than you do, i suspect. O i wentw school on a full academic scholarship. Joe bidens always been very sensitive to the perception that d when that happens, those are the moments when he tends to 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 inrnational moot court competition. But Syracuse University Law School Records released by biden just last week show he sought a partial, not full, scholarship, for financial, not academic reasons, that he finished not in the top half, but 76th out of 85 students. Joe biden comes off as confidence, but obviously,elf theres an imposter syndrome dynamiat work here. Because if you feel like you have to make up stuff about yourself and invent stories that are not your own, and then do it in such a selfdestructive wayhi in you can be caught, that speaks to a level of character, and certainly insecurity, that is common among a l of politicians. Delightful to see you all here. Wi you know my fe, 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 essence of my candidacy and the essence of joe biden. He recognized that this was a fatal blow to his hopes of winning the nomination in 1988. I think it was a very painful decision. Nk t folks, my wife and i thank you very much. Narrator biden lost this fight. Delaware senator joseph biden dropped out of the hunt. E joe biden bmostly himself. Narrator he returned to the senate, continued his method 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 . The taj mahal shines a trumps slickest deal. Narrator the biggest crisis of donaltrumps Business Career began with e giant bet. Rt it nly represented something bigger and bolder and probably what was going to be r the greatest statement ede in Atlantic City. And so, it was a big deal. It was a big deal to donald. Narrator the casino s the size of two football fields. Trump said he spent 14 million on chandeliers. His bet 1 billion. people taing in background people were mobbing donald. I was shocked, i couldnt believe that, you know, asking him for his autograph and everything. I mean, he had just catapulted into this rock star. Narrator in tv reports, trump bragged that he was the reason the taj would be a success. The tajahal needs to make over 1 million a day to cover expenses. Um says his business sense and ego will make it happen. Ego is an interesting thing. I mean, ive always beenre rred to as somebody with a big ego, but i really believe that ive never met a successful person without a very large ego. And if you dontave a big ego, youre not gonna be successful its as sile as that. Narrar ego was central to trumps method, but there was Something Else positive thinking. A technique hed learned with his father at this manhattan church. It was the place to be seen for politicians, and the talites, every sunday, he would show up at marb Collegiate Church to go to Norman Vincent peales services. Was a wise god made this world he wants people who live life and like it. Love it. I think part of it was thisha positive messagepeale had, that you could achieve anything you wanted there was nothing that could stop you. Narrator peales book, the power of positive thinking, taught followers visualization, envisioningth the worl they wanted. One reason that the positive sinker gets positive resu is, he is not afraid of a problem. Its this Toxic Positivity that perfectly fit in with what my grandfather already thought. E everythings, you know, and if you think that way, then everything will be gat. The problem is, everything is not always great. How, then, can you face the future with confidence . The three influences on donald trump, as i sometimes describe them, are school of dad school of fred trump school of roy roy cohn and school of Norman Vincent peale. Narrator it was peales kind of outlook that carried trump into Atlantic City, wi the vision of his name in lights trump plaza, trump castle, then the billiondollar trump taj, paid for with junk bonds. I dont think donald trump spent one minuteorrying about debt. If he introduced doubt into his life, thwhole, the whole thing would unravel. Narrator trump was warned repeatedly he was headed for disaster. T he dismissed the warnings. E he doesnt really lik hearing bad news. An optimist sometimes is so optimistic that they dont want to hear anything, that even if theyre heading right off a clif they might not want to hear the news. What worries some analysts is the amount of junk bond debt trump has incurred to build the taj mahal. Narrator inevitably, reporters began to question whether trumps vision could be profitable. Trump says he believes they will. The taj mahal is going to be a tremendous success. Narrator thats when trump turned to a key rocohn lesson attack the media. When cnn tried to psue some of these matters with trump, this is what happened. Vi do this int with somebody else. We talked about this yesterday on the phone. This is exactly what we talked about. Do the interview with somebody else, really. You dont need this. Do it with somebody else. And have a good time with it,e becaankly, youre a very negative guy and i think its very unfair reporting. Good luck. Its just classic denial. If oure an expert and you agree with donald trump, youre a genius, but if youre an y expert a disagree with him, youre a loser. Narrator he ignored the experts, but they had been right. Trumps casino business will narrator trumps casinosth. Declared bankruptcy. The word is, youre bankrupt. B narrator aftkruptcy. All three casinos are facing nkruptcy. Narrator after bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Narrator the collapse of the vestors and Atlantic City. Bankruptcy is a situation where people are losing, theyre getting pennies on the dollar. The banks clearly lost out. So did the people of Atlantic City, who lost jobs, who lost their tax base. Thats what happens in a bankrupt and thats what happened in these Atlantic City bankrucies. Narrator but trump, as always, refused to admit failure. That is sorof Norman Vincent peale, hold on tenaciously, hold on to is image of yourself as successful. Never let go of it. Never let the idea of failure enter your mind. And i call it a beaiful puzzle. Narrator the crisis in Atlantic City also solidified another method trump would come to rely on. I know more about isis than the generals do, believe me. Narrator believe in yourself over experts. He experts are terrible. Look at the mess were in with all these experts that we have. Narrator reject the naysayers. We have it totally under control. Its one person coming in from china. La narrator d victory no matter what. And we have it under control. Its going to be just fine. President bush said he has no doubt Clarence Thomas will benf med to the u. S. Supreme court. Thomas will try to persuade the senate that he has. E biden, now the powerful chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, was facing his biggest crisis yet allegationsg nst Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. This affidavit charged that thomasexually harassed a former employee, anita hill. W good evening,begin tonight with the potential for political explosion on capitol ll. Clarence thomas ran into trouble today. Questions are growing over charges of Sexual Harassmentag ainst thomas. It seems to have been a nightmare for joe biden. As a man, he felt uncomfortable about it. As a white man, he felt uncomfortable taking clarencebl thomas, k man, on about it. Um, and the whole subject matter just made him incrediblyta uncomfe. Another witness has come forward against thomas. News of a second woman who once worked for thomas. Arrator biden was at first reluctant to have hill testify, but the story was ploding. There were actually three other women, other than myself, who were willing to testify, why had actually said alled senator bidens office and, and offered thr own testimony. Narrator Angela Wright offered her owstark allegations against thomas, he asked me, in one situation, what size breasts, w my brease. He told me he wanted to date me. , this is a man who has, w my opinion, has often spoken inappropriately to women. But Committee Chairman biden conceded tonight that newio informabout the allegations has come in. Narrator with the pressuti mo, biden agreed to let the women testify. The hearing will come to order. Welcome, professor hill. Professor, do you swear to tell the whole truth, an nothing but the truth, so help you god . I do. Thank you. Narrator bidens committeee was all whn. The men of e senate, as they were called. There was not a single woman whmight have understood her story from a womans pointf view. Can you tell the committee what was the most embarrassing of all the incidences that you have alleged . I think the one that was the most embarrassing was his discussion of, of pornography involving these women with large breasts and, and engaged in a variety of sex with different people or animals. That was the thi that embarrassed me the most and made me feel the st humiliated. Hes kind of in the middle of the road. Im a southern woman, and ive always heard that the only thint middle of the road is roadkill and yellow stripes. And that you have to take a position and you have toecide what you stand for. He didnt know whose side toco down on. Thank you. My time is up under our agreement. Let me now yield to my friendat from pennsylvania, s specter. Narrator bidens closepu friend, ican arlen specter, led the charge against hill. I find the references to the leged Sexual Harassment not only unbelievable, but preposterous narrator he cast doubt on her memory. How relble is your testimony in october of 1991 on events that occurred eight, ten years ago . Narrator he suggested she was exaggerating. 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 that was an inference that you drew . Yes, yes. My, my red light is on, thank you, very much, professor hill. Thank you, mr. Chairman. To thank you, se thank you, professor hill. That committee to grillmbers of professor hill in a way that was inappropriate and could have done something to provide her with some support, some comfort. Narrator biden gave Clarence Thomas the last word. Y he stronnied the allegations. This is a circus. Its a national disgrace. And from my standpoint as a black american, as 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 black man. gavel bangs narrator with that, biden moved to wrap up the hearings. Angela wright anthe other women accusing thomas would not teify. He end up voting against thomas, but his handling of the hearing damaged litically. It made him the face of an outoftouch body. And really wounded his prospects of a future run for president. , he had some work to had some reputational rehab to do. Narrator biden turned toodis meor survival in crisis repair the damage. Oblem and joe is always able to say, yeah, i didnt handle that ite right. Let me see what i can do better the next time. Carol Moseley Braun h entered political history. Shes the first African American woman elected to the u. S. Sena big changes here, a kind that have history written all over them. Narrator fixing things began by recruiting the first black woman elected to the United States senate. Brauns anger over the Clarence Thomas hearings turnede into a candidate. Narrator biden wanted to make sure Moseley Braun 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. Nand he still probably do laughs narrator but he convinced her and dian feinstein to join the committee, beginning, once again, to rebuild. Al my names dontrp, and im the largest Real Estate Developer in new york. I own buildings all over the place, model agencies, the Miss Universe pageant, jetliners, golf courses, casinos. Narrator having prevailed in spite of personal and financial crises, donald trump was now making crisis his brd. P for 14 seasons, layed the role of a mogul, as if he were. Still one in real li h financial dynasty toppling like a house of cards. Narrator in the wreckage of atedntic city, trump had cha course. Trumps name once meant gold. Today, it means trouble. Narrator and doubled downid on what had been a hes always saw hims a potential tv or entertainment star. H its another part , his personality, is, he likes to be an entertainer. P. Donald tr narrator on tv. Its the donald, oh, god yelps softly excuse me, whes the lobby . Nrato d movies. N the hall and to the left. Thanks. Narrator in the ring. He always played the same character himself. laughs wildly ohmy god the hostile takeover of donald trump. What he was selling was aan d. He leaed that he just had to keep being relevant. Be he just had to keeg talked about, even if it meant being notorious. Narrator they built a false boardroom on the vacant fifth floor of trump tower. My first time mting 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 ump into this persona. Okay, folks, im really busy today, so wergoing to go quickly. Who almost completely redeemed the preapprentice donald trump. As a little treat, youre going to see the nicesten aparin new york city, its my apartment. In ways that arso substantial and so deepseated that, would the apprentice not be in the picture, i couldnt see him running for presiden narrator every episode was a crisis. Youre fired youre 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 carefullyd choreograpama hooked the audience, keeping them comingor back for whats the, the ethos of reality tv . Its that fighting is the best state of human life. Its that life is a competition. Its zerosum. 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 tru on steroids, you know . laughs its, like, this guy was bigger than life. He was everywhere. T realiv show host u. S. President . Narrator it was time for trump to take s brand to the next level. Donald trumps recent white house flirtation has gone above and beyond. Narrator he would run for president. He recognized thatow entertainment is central part of american politics. Donald trump actually decided that you can fuse everything that he had learned about celebrity and entertainment and ratings from having been on the apprentice into a president ial campaign. Narrator hisnnouncement mirrored the apprentice. Celebrity apprenticeng. E a we had staged one of 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 escalato the orchestration of it recognizes his showmanship. Hes a showman above all. A crowd filled out with, yes, with actual actors who were promised 50 bucks a pop to simulate enthusiasm for him and play a role in a similar way to the way that 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 country great again. Nrator the developer who went bust, the reality tv star, was on his way, rnessing the power of crisis and conflict, image over reality. Anoth day, another entry in t president ial race. Delaware senator joe biden is the ninth democrat to jump. Arrator it was 2007. Joe biden was running for presidt, again. But that very day. For president days. Runninges narrator it all blew up. This was not a good day for joe biden, was it . No, it really wasnt, katie. Ce. Just got into the ra today, and no oner than he did, he talks his way into a national controversy. Spent much of the day discussing these comments he made to a newspaper reporter about senator barack obama. I mean, you got the first sort of mainstreamfrican american who is articulate a bright and, and clean, and a nicelooking guy, i mean, its, thats a storybo, man. Some people listening to those descriptions of obama articulat clean heard racial overtones, or, at theco very leastescension. I think when people heard the clean and articulate line, there was a wave of eyerolling, certainly among African Americans. It was the kind of wellintentioned but benightedex commentary that yoct from people who inhabit environments where there arent very many black people, and the United States senathas historically been a prime example of that. Onight, his campaign is doing damage control. Narrator hed been hereco before damagrol kinnock, anita hill. Joe bidens apologizing for a remark he made about senator barack obama, saying, i deeply regret any offense. Narrator he followed the playbook apologize, persevere. This is the daily show with jon stewart. cheers and applause nice to see you do you want to talk about the comments, specifically,d that have generae controversy . Well, yeah, sure, i mean. Nt no, i dont o talk about it. laughter the philadelphia inquirer, yesterday, you were quoted ashe saying, ne lesson i learned from my previous president ial run is, words matter. hats right. and you cant take words lightly, and then you came out with this one, all righthere you go. Listen to this one, this is great. A, barack ob mean, you got the first mainstream African American whost articulate and brid clean and a nicelooking guy. I mean, thats a storybook, man. Exclaiming well, let me tell you something, i try, i spoke to barack today. I bet you did. laughter also spoke to jesse and al sharpton and, and, and. And michael jordan, and hands on. Ou could get your the jackson five who else . Michael didnt call me. Michael didnt calme. It was a reminder that this was somebody who was capable of doing those kinds of things, who was, in many way his own worst enemy, whether it was because he, he didnt know when to sp speaking or because he could say things in the moment that would get him into trouble. The latest news is that joe biden is dropping out of the race joe biden is dropping out. Narrator once again, joe bidens caaign would collapse. But he wast taking himself out of the game. Hed make it personal build 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 get anything out of me on the Vice President ial thing nothing. Narrator soon, thatou relationship pay off, as obama sought a running mate. I am gonna say that ive, ive made the selection, and thatsll youre going to get. I think obama really liked the idea of choosing the guy who had said these things about him, that so many other people gfound offensive, of show this kind of magnanimity around racial issues and racial rhetor, that i think was key to his winning. Narrator obama asked him to be on his ticket as Vice President. The biden inner circlegton, gathered. I mean, theres no douwas it. Not going to do it. And we had another one of those family meetingand 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, joey she called him joey shsaid, well, joey, your telling me that the first African American president in hiory thinks that you can help him get elected, and ure me, set, match, it was over. laughs barack obama projected to be the next president. Senator barack obama of illinois. Narrator hed turned a political crisis into a relationship, and became Vice President. He had already squared away in his mind thatdersod that barack obama was president , joe was Vice President. De and joe tood the job of Vice President and, and, uh. And wore it well. Narrator in the obama white house, biden brought with him something the presidt didnt have relationships in congress 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 thewith a degree of comfort that president obama didnt have, because he hadntn knem as long as Vice President biden. Amas trusted partner. Ame ing did you do, if youre vicet president. The real question is, how much influence did you have . And i think biden understands power and leveraging power. I think he had a genuine they spent a lot of tia, and talking. But i think he was a very influential Vice President , inan that wayan extremely loyal Vice President. Narrator in return, obama bestowed obiden Something Special a kind of political sainthood they called the obama halo. Joe biden has the obama halo, Everybody Knows th. That is the cleansing of joe biden and everytng that may have happened. And there is such a great ony, that someone who was theit art 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 aun black man with a name whos kind of skinny from hawaii by way of kansas. Cowardice are you serious . Apologies for freedom i cant handle this narrator 2015, donald c trumps president ipaign, a madefortv spectacle. cheers and applause a showcase with all the them. Rn them go ahean go ahead. K knthe crap out of them, would you . Seriously. Just knock the hell. I promise you i will pay for the legal fees, i promise. cheers and applause youve called women you dont like fat pigs. O y rosie odonnell. laughter by the time trump arrives, running for president in 2016. How does my hair look . Is it ok . crowd cheering . He understands conflict,. He understands celebrity he understands the power of television. And he understands how to dominate. Narrator and against his opponents another strategy he had perfected personal attack. Little marco. This little guy has lied so much. Yin ted. You are the 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 rson hes been, i think, since he was five years old. Donald told me that he is essentially the person he was in first grade, and that heasnt really changed. Ar tor but a month before the election. The trump camp has swiftly narrator a bomhell. Mod a big, Big Development in this campaign. That day, were up in the 25th floor confence 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 publish the transcrt. She got ts transcript. And shes, like, about to cry, she goes, oh, this is terrible. T narrator the trum watched it online. Whatever you want. laughs like, whoa boom, that thing hits. In video, its pretty powerful. T so everything down. Everybody and everybody isnt quite everybody, but most people both and outside thewo campaign thought id end his candidacy. Donald Trumps Campaign e its worst crisr. The future of a campaign that is in dire straits. I think the question now is, how do republicans break away from him . Ru narrator s campaign was in free fall. Reince priebus, the chairm of the Republican National committee, confronted trump. Reince priebus basically said, you need to get out of the race. Andonald trump said, no. He said, im not getting out of the race. Not on am i not getting out of the race, im going to go and run, im going to win. T narrator he would igno political experts. In that moment, 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 was on him and everything like that. And thats what a leader does. Narrator in the dst of crisis, he turned to what he had learned from Norman Vincent c peale, rn, his dad,y real. I could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody, and i wouldnt lose any voters, okay . Its, like, incredible. Narrator he went on the attack. L every womd when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Narrator . Changed the s subject,king racial division. Ra and we will keecal islamic terrorists the hell out. Narrator . Economic fears. Eg we are going to riate our terrible trade deal. Narrator . Frustrion with washington. It is time to drain the damn swamp. Narrator . And making big promises. We will build a great wall d cheers plause and we will make americareat again cheers and applse donald trump will be the 45th president of the United States. Narrator amidst outrage and anger, he won the ultimate prize and stay true to his playbook. I think what donald trump learned from his entire run for president is that he could really oy count on himself. He needed to rely on his own political instincts to figure out how to move rward. cheers and applause narrator through the obama years building racial tensi,ol outrage overe violence against African Americans. gunshots, shouting get out of the car, dude s ens blaring narrator then, news of a revenge shooting against thece po we begin tonight with breaking news. A Deadly Police shooting in new. York c 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 paramedicsto desperately trieave the lives of officers wenjian liu and rafael ramos. Narrator as the Vice President , joe biden often tackled controversies. And in matters of race, him to walk a fine line he could not. Bi one of jons chief responsibilities was to be an ambassador to the country, specifically to the white pas of the country, where barackig obamas presence have only further inflamed the situation. Narrator now biden was dispatched to new york. 25,000 Police Officers are all there. Narrator it was tense. A sea of blue filled the city streets. P narratoice officers lined the streets as biden arrived. S thousands of nypd offic lining the streets outside of the funeral service. When we got out of the cars, you could see that this mass of police had changed him. Thousands of people lining the streets. Gathered shouer to shoulder at a queens, new york, church to say farewell to a fallen. While we had understood the gravity and e sensitivity, i dont think it really hit any of us until we saw the tens of thousands of police there. Narrator he used his methods keep it al, talk directly to the family of officer rafael ramos. Our hearts ache for you. Al i know from persxperience say or do at this moment to,can to ease the pain, that sense of loss, that sense of loneliness. Joe biden has been defined in public life by heartbreak and empathy. That when joe biden steps up at, the funeou know that those tears are real. That the time will come. The time will come when rafaels ur lips before it brings ato tear to your eyes. Thats when you know its ing to be okay. Know its hard to believ itll happen, but i promise you, promise you it will happen its an odd role in public life to be known as a Person Associated with grie and joe biden never waed to be that person, actually. It was not how he imagined his own political future. taps playing but because of his life, hed en being this public political symbol of suffering and of resilience. And eventually he embracedt. But he actually didnt want to be that. taps continues re nrator that day, tas unfinished business. Biden wanted to see officer wenjian lius family. We came out of the church. And joe said, i want to offer my condolences to him, as well, to them, to that family. siren beeping he wanted tgo and meet them and talk with them. So the Police Worked it out so that we could visit. An d 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 kitchen. And we sat and we talked to them. And we must have been in there, i dont know, a good hour. I started to notice that wenjian lius father had rarely. Left my si occasionally, he would lean into me so that his shoulder toucd my arm. Thank you, he kept saying. Thank you, thank you. We went out othe sidewalk. And the father, who didnt even speak english, i mean, just held on to joe. And, i mean, he was so grateful that joe had come to offer we stood there for ily. While, embracing on the little sidewalk in front ofhe house where he had lived with his only son, just two fathers. I understood all that he wanted me to know. Narrator after decades in politics, biden seemed to have finally found his place. But soonfter the crisis in new york, a personal crisis yetn. Ag pipes and drums playing biden was burying his own son, beau. pipes and drums playing he s the apple of bidens eye. So he was not jusone who he thought was brilliant and successful and so oud of him. It went beyond pride, it wasal st like, hes the perfect version of me. Narrator beau had served in iraq. He was attorney general delaware. They talked about the presidency someday. Es joe often descrim as joe 2. 0. And he looked like his dad, heam had a lot of theskill sets as his father he was very charismatic, he was arming, he was funny. Narrator but then, brain cancer. Death at 46. Beau biden, former delaware attorney general and eldest son died. President joe biden,. Vice president bidens office was the first to announce his sons death. Vice president was with aws son beau when he passe tonight. Very sad news, beau biden lost his battle with brain cancer. Familand friends gathered at st. Anthonys church in wilmington yesterday to pay their respects some waited in line for up to six hours. Lines, lines five blocks long outside the church. Narrator at one point, after several hours, a surprise. There was mr. Liu and his wife. An they came to, uh. Give us comfort. It was just two men, really, who had gone through something horrible, umjust offering comfort to o another. Narrator before beaus death, biden had been considerg another run fort. Presid now the question was not just would he, but could h i was, happened to be in obamas white house, and he walked in. And i honestly. It was almost like i didnt recognize him. Rt this was s after beau died. He just looked like he had aged years and years in such a short amount of time narrator through crisis and tragedy, joe biden had his eyese on thedency, but now, in grief, he would decide to stand down. I, nald john trump, do solemnly swear. Narrator from the very beginning of donald trump presidency, he ignited crisis. bursts, sirens blaring shouting this american carnage stops right re and stops right now. Its a crisis; Donald Trumps president of the United States. Now comes the hour of action. Theres been enough talk. Narrator week one a travel ban aimed at muslim counies. A scene of outrage at jfk airport in new york. Protests, outrage, and. Backlash to me, it just felt like continuing chaos. North korea wilbe met with fire and fury like the world has never se. Narrator ongoing threats to other nations. There was no effort to say,ha ware the priorities here . And i think he makes decisions quickly and can change them ry quickly, too. And, uh, it sometimes could be 180 degrees what he had decided just a few hours before. Narrator and just like the apprentice firings, turmoil, confrontation. Weve had reality tv framing for the presidency. If you see the serial exits of people who, you know, really had built significant careers only to be kicked around and thence ejected moniously. 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,t ir interactions with trump. Fbi investigation, wasco there usion. Narrator ovehadowing it all, allegations of collusion with russia, obstruction of justice. Russian collusion, give me a break. President trump now facing outrage after firing comey. I did you a great favor when i fired this guy, i tell ya. Im not concerned about anything because its a hoax. Estigation thats enough. Put down the mic. Mr. President are you worried about indictments. Breaking news, the whitet. House in crisis. Ic the Juste Department appointed a special counsel to. Investigate. This is a pure and simple witch hunt. At first blush, maybe he really hates it and hes annoyer by the muenvestigation, or the media attacks, or this or that. But when you look at it further, he sort of enjoys the jousting, he enjoys the fighting. Narrator it was the presidencyoy cohn had prepared him for. He learned from roy cohn attack, never apologize, seem to be in charge was true then, and is true today. Wait a minute. Im not finished, fake news. To be what his father had called a killer. They are very, very dishonest people. Fake news. Narrator three years of chaos would culmine in impeachment. To be impeached. The absolutely crazedna cs the democrats, radical left. Narrator he did what he always did. Are pushing the deranged impeachment witch hunt for doing nothing wrong. He only has the one playbook. He uses it no matt what the crisis. Shadow of impeachment. It dit matter when the canos went bust. It didnt matter wn his whole collapse. Empire seemed to 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. cheers and applse it really wasnt, in myil opinion, uhe u. S. Senate voted for acquittal on the two impeachment charges that donald trump finally had a small air oa ability. We can take that home, honey, maybe well frame it. laughter go it the onl headline ive ever had in the washington post. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much. Narrator he had unified the party behind him, left his imprint on the Supreme Court, delivered tax cuts, undermined washingtons institutions. My grandfather remains donalds audience of one. Its to him donalds continually trying to prove himself. White lives matter ve white s matter white lis matter chanting continues narrator for the first time in decades, joe biden was a private citizen, watching Donald Trumps presidency. Then came charlottesville. That was really the tipping when he heard President Trump say, there are very fine, some very fine people on both sides, that was it. That was the tipping point. Narrator in the streets, violent clashes beeen White Supremacists and counter presters. Its hard to lieve, basedis own statements, that joe biden doesnt sesome level ofit personal responsibfor the rise of donald trump. Joe biden was the Vice President and he chose not to run for president. You have to imagine thats weighed pretty heavily on joe biden. Narrator he decided to doou something it. At 76 years old, he would orreverse course run one time. S he was seen as yesterda news. He was a very rickety ship. He was not as eloquent as he was 30 years ago, like most people e and he also, you know,s saddled with a very, very long record, some of it going back to the 70s. From nbc news. Decision 2020 the democratic narrator in those early days, his long, complicated record was a liability. Im going to now direct this at Vice President biden. You opposed busing. And, you kno there was a little girl in california who was partf the second class to integrate her public schools,to and she was busechool every day. And that little girl was me. It wasnt about the specifics it was a signal. Bate. It was saying that this is a white guwho is so old that he was taking a position on busg but, Vice President , do you agree today do you agreewr today that you werg to oppose busing in america then . Precisely because he has such a long track record in american politics, you can point to him being on the wrong side of nsidered to be completely settled. He narrator it would be first of many rough nights on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, in a stunning reversal, joe bidens campaign president ial candidateal fundraising. Numbers e down among the drop is primarily amongnts. Younger voters. Narrator he struggled to excite voters. Vice president joe biden, struggling in the polls here. Joe biden is his mpaign trouble . Narrator he was selling what he always had, joe biden, and ir wasntng. The truth is, he does not have some transformational oror different visionhe country. Its a, its a tough campaign for him. Joe ben presently trailing in fourth place. Surprised how bad joe bi. N did he fled the stag one of his senior advisers had to call him and have what t she described to me conversation you never want to have with a candidate, which is, we may be approachinghe point of having to shut this thing down. Joe biden is fighting for his political survival. Narrator but he wasnt givingp. Joe biden desperately needs South Carolina if he has any chance. Narrator his last hope. Makeorbreak time in particular for j biden. Narrator . South carolina. It all rests on South Carolina. Joe biden has spent lot oftime in South Carolinan relate to south carolinians. V South Carolina wy, very important to joe biden. E, joe, oe narrator to win, he desperately needed the black vote. cheers and applause joe bidens been around for a ng time. People are comfortable with him. They get him, they understand him. Even if they dont agree with him, they think hes, you know, a odfaith actor. That means a lot. To a community of people who have been betrayed and oppressed and tricked and lied to, someone who you can trust at their word, that goes a very long way. Oh, my lord narrator it was what he hadf done in thst senate race making it personal, connecting. Nbc news is projectg rmer Vice President joe biden is the winner. Narrator they gave biden a victory. S. Invigorated largely by black voters in this state. Joeiden wins big. Narrator three days later. In a political earthquake, these are the sults nobody saw coming. Narrator . He rode the momentum and dominated super tuesday. He pulled off one of theti biggest pol upsets in modern political history. L. Narrator soon, he won it cheers and applause in its own way, its the culmination of all of his training and ambition and his mistakes and his regrets and his attempts tbe 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 . E man who had made plenty of mistakes. Historic decision announced via text and twitter. R narrator . And asked political forgiveness, turned to the opponent whod gone after him on the campaign trail. Kama harris as his running mate. Narrator . Kamala harris,s and picked her as nning mate. African American Community will help propel himo the white house. It was an opportunity for him to distinguish himself from donald trump. That i actually want to bring the person whos criticized me most harshly into the fold because i value dissenting opinions. And at was part of the messa that was being sent with kamala harris. The growing worries and response to the deadly coronavirus. Wuhan, china, thats the epicenter. Wuhan, china. Narrator the pandemic. A nation in crisis. Now under lockdown. The philippines confirmed its first death. Rm france is confiing. Italy is taking unprecedented. This is italys darkest hour. Trump was trying to pln. Nald. 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. Nrator he used the Norma Vincent peale approach visualize what you want to be true no matter the facts. Thank you very much. Were ady for it. It is what it is. 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 tr as the codeals with this worst pandemic, theyre seeing in a man that doesnt see any problems. He always sees a rosy, bright future, and that he n succeed. Theres no question that in the first several months of 2020, staff on the nsc and the wenters for disease contro raising red flags about what was happening 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. E one day its lmiracle it will disappear. This unwillingness to think abt the implications meant there was no Strategic Planning going on, because that wouldea have acknowledging we were facing a severe threat. And he simply did not want to do that. Empty streets lead to packed 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 c trucks to new yoy to hold the people whove perished. Narrator . He doubled down. Now the democrats are politicizing the coronavir, you know that, right . Coronavirus. Ey e politicizing it. Very roy cohn. Ad very school of very Norman Vincent peale. Successful. That youre insist that what youre doing is right. Now, what do you say to amerans who are watching you right now who are scared . I say that youre a r terriborter. Thats what i say. Go ahead. Question. Ts a very and i think its a very bad signal that youre putting out to the american people. Thats part of this playbook double down, trle down, say any problems aredy somelses fault. sirs blaring, radio chatter narrator and in the midst of the pandemic, once again, racial strife. wailing get up and get in the car. Get off of him now ng what is wro with yall . Bro, hes notoving did they muted kill him . Narrator george floyd, killed by police. sirens blaring and that opens the floodgates. I cant breathe i cant breathe i cant breathe chanting continues wt we saw in the days and weeks to follow that was the confluence of these multiple factors. The deeply, deeply frustrated black lives matter movent, of a particularly incendiary video. O racist police noustice, no peace ho ho these racist cops have got to go that movement was cognizant of the fact th trump had consistently talked to police and urged them to behave more aggressively. I cant breathe i cant breathe narrator trumps Approval Ratings were plummeting. Protesters were massg outside the white house. Re youhe threat you are the threat you are the threat narrator in the rose garden that day, he wld go to his playbook fan the flames. At ourn has been gripped by professional anarchists,bs violent arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, antifa. What trump is trying to do is change the subject. A thatifa, 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. As we speak, i am dispatching heavily armed soldierslitary personnel,nd Law Enforcement officers to stop the rioting, looting, vandalism, assaults, and the wanton destruction of propty. R narratos he spoke, a choreographed show of force across the street from the white use. crowd shouting im sitting on the corner of pennsyania and 17th street. I cant breathe i cant breathe and i start coughing, and choking, and i start wondering whats going on. crowd shouting and i look up and its, its ouds of smoke, and its officers throwing me sort of chemical gas that is making my throat and my eyes burn. And i see people running. explosions, sparks, shouting . And this line of Police Officers coming, and theyre clring the streets. And im mpletely confused, because im wondering, why is the white house doing this . Narrator then the president left the rose garden for a amatic tv moment. distant sirens blaring i felt badly for some of the people who were in that marc ive been askewhat i would do, and ive said i probably would have gone along; how am i going to say no . Badly about it later. Felt very but thats an effect trump has on people. cameras clicking really, its just a picture. Its just an image of present being in charge. And thats his vision of what thpresident is the guy i charge. disnt siren blaring hes just in charge. cameras clicking narrator for joe biden, the nation in crisis gave him an opportunity. May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of american darkness gan here, tonight. As love and hope and light join in the battle for the soul of the nation. Narrator one last chance to see if making it personal persevering in the face of adversity can prevail. This is a battle we will win, and well do it together. Narrator for donald trump, a litime of conflict had prepared h for yet another fight. And this election will decide whether will defend the american way of life or whether we will allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it. Ha narrator anothere to see if turning crisis to his advantage can carry the day. Together, we are unstoppablee together, wenbeatable. Narrator now a deeplyl divided nation wcide. Policy is not the choice thats on the llot this year. It is a choice of character. It is a choice of temperament. Anit is a choice of person personality. Thats always a factor in our presidenal campaigns. But i dont think its ever been as big a factor as it will be november. Go to pbs. Org frontline for the latest frontliney transpareoject. Explore 60 interviews from the mang of this film. Re tas no Strategic Planning going on. Joe had just never been knocked down. Hes always been getting up. To and liste conversation with director michael kirk on our podcast the frontline spatch. So we looked long and hard at all of the things that have happened in their lives. Connect with frontline on facebook and twitter, and watch anytime on the s app or pbs. Org frontline. Narrator the crackdow. The number of people th can b. Woman speaking Foreign Language narrator frontline goes undercover to trace the missing. Can i trust you . Narrator and exposes a nextgeneration surveillance state. Man speing Foreign Language the combination of cuttingedge technology and brutal policing methods to control population. Dearrator china over frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation for public broadcasting. R mapport is provided by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. The Rd Foundation working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide at fordfoundation. Org Additional Support is provided by the abrams foundati, committed to excellence in journalism. The park fouation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. D by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. Captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org for more on this and othernt fne programs, visit our website at pbs. Org frontline. The choice 2020 is available on amazon prime video. Of ready to watch the bes pbs anytime, anywhere, on nearly any device . Its easy with the pbs video app. Simply download the pbs video app on your mobile or streaming device. Now you can watch the latest pbs episodes, or catch up on the shows you missed. Discover new favorites from pbs and local content from your pbs station. Get the pbs video app now and stream the best of pbs, anytime you want, anywhere you are. First nations people come from an oral storytelling place, and i mean thaht in a good way, r we talk, and we talk, and we talk, and we talk, and we talk. We look, and we watch, and we watch, and we watch, and we feel, and we fe w, and we feel, alisten. And so that is key. Step step step [bright hiphop music] to hell with the man ima always be a homeboy lightning and thunder strike every time i go for it im so fly, must be a dna thing her booty, bibutt you should see it in a g string a lot of people, from University Students to High School Students olto elementary sctudents have come up to me and said that my music really, uh, impacted their lives. Im riding like theres no time left close my eyes, and i hold my breath