Behind the Polarization | Divided States of America Part 2 (full documentary) | FRONTLINE (PBS)
June 9, 2026
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1:53:18Now PlayingBehind the Polarization | Divided States of America Part 2 (full documentary) | FRONTLINE (PBS)
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelThe second episode of a two-part 2017 docuseries examines events during the Obama presidency that revealed the nation’s deep divisions and the state of the polarized country that President Trump would go on to lead. (Aired 2017)
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Days before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, FRONTLINE premiered “Divided States of America,” a four-hour, two-part documentary miniseries examining events during the Obama presidency that revealed deep divisions in the U.S. and helped pave the way for Trump’s ascent.
With conflict and discord continuing to define the American political reality to this day, episode two of “Divided States of America” is now available to watch on YouTube for the first time. Its release is part of an effort to make FRONTLINE’s documentary archive widely available for streaming.
Watch episode one of the documentary here
“Divided States of America” was directed by Michael Kirk. It was written by Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser. It was produced by Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Philip Bennett. It was produced and reported by Jim Gilmore and Gabrielle Schonder. The executive producer at large of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.
Explore additional reporting on “Divided States of America” on our website:
#Documentary #BarackObama #DonaldTrump #Politics
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The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.
Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with major support from Ford Foundation, and The Fialkow Family Foundation.
Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and Corey David Sauer, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.
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