”It was a good watch, but quite a doomy one.”
Trump: A Second Chance?, BBC1
“Panorama’s Trump: A Second Chance? follows a group of supporters whose devotion to Trump verges on the religious. Here, rather than being challenged by the documentary-makers, they are given room to speak about the economic malaise and political disenchantment that have drawn them to Trump.
“We see in real time how Trump’s rhetoric at rallies energises them and how mainstream coverage of his indictments inspires visceral outrage. A range of academics, historians and politicians are also on hand to provide articulate reflections on the question of how Trump appeals to his base, why his populist tactics are underestimated by Democrats and what a second term might mean for the US and the world. All agree that this upcoming election could change the country irrevocably.”
Dan Einav, Financial Times
”Documentaries about the phenomenon of Donald Trump are often overcome by the sheer horror of the man, what he has done and – especially among those broadcast in the runup to the 2024 US election – what he may be planning to do in the future. Sometimes, however, they sidestep this trap and treat the subject itself with the sober consideration that it, rather than the man, deserves. Into the latter category falls Trump: A Second Chance? which, like all the best documentaries, ploughs the harder furrow.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
”It was a good watch, but quite a doomy one. It started by examining the ’cult of Trump’, interviewing his followers and ’Front Row Joes’ who travel thousands of miles to his rallies with an almost religious zeal for the man they think will rescue their dead American Dream… But the ending left the viewer in no doubt how serious the election stakes are.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
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