Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Tales from the front lines of Trump’s fourth year, from players including Mick Mulvaney, John Bolton, Steven Bannon and one of the president’s champion pastors, Mark Burns.

Emboldened by his exoneration in the Russia investigation, Trump is more audacious than ever. He invites the Taliban to Camp David, suggests buying Greenland from Denmark and attracts more drama with the Sharpie-gate affair, when Trump is accused of altering a weather map to justify his mistaken claims about the path of Hurricane Dorian.

The support of his base continues, adding to an impression of untouchable confidence - this is a president who will not live by the usual rules.

But Trump’s character and approach to the presidency are put under intense scrutiny when Trump is accused of coercing Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, his rival in the upcoming presidential race - an accusation he vehemently denies.

The powerful evangelical Christian lobby shores up support for Trump in the political arena and beyond, using their might to bolster his hold on the Republican Party. His survival of impeachment suggests plain sailing to the election, and Trump’s place in a transformed political landscape seems secure.

But a virus is spreading across America. Having disbanded the government’s pandemic response unit, Trump pushes back against government scientists. Coronavirus, however, sweeps through the US, killing more than 150,000 Americans by mid-2020. The thriving economy – his great claim to success – is now in peril, and Trump must step up to the moment. Can the president’s unorthodox style work in the face of a national threat? Trump has leaned heavily into the politics of performance and division, but does this crisis need a unifier?

In May 2020, police officers kill a black man, George Floyd, and protests spread across the country, some turning violent. As demonstrators descend on the White House and breach security lines, Trump is rushed to an underground bunker. Trump then orders police to clear the area outside the White House and walks to a nearby church to pose for a photo opportunity holding up a Bible. As tear gas is used to clear his path, it looks like a rare moment of Trump the showman faltering.

The protests highlight the language of division that is dominating the airwaves again, reflecting a political landscape that has been dramatically altered in the past four years. As the election nears, the question is whether Trump has lost control of the narrative or whether his political savvy, fighting instincts and understanding of the nature of power and performance can propel him to another victory.