The FRONTLINE Interviews:

The Choice 2020

Our Sources. On the Record. At Your Fingertips.

To produce The Choice 2020, FRONTLINE conducted 47 interviews totaling more than 100 hours with some of the people closest to Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We’re publishing this entire original archive, plus selected interviews from previous films, as part of FRONTLINE’s Transparency Project. Now you can hear what we heard and see how we used it in the making of The Choice. You can also explore and share stories, subjects and voices that didn’t make it into the film. Read here about how we chose our interview subjects and, with the help of each of them, overcame challenges of conducting dozens of interviews during a pandemic.

Interviews

Margaret Aitken
Fmr. Biden Press Secretary

Text
Yamiche Alcindor
White House Correspondent, PBS Newshour

Text
Ken Auletta
The New Yorker

Text
Matt Bai
Author, All the Truth is Out

Text
Peter Baker
White House Correspondent, The New York Times

Text
James Baker
Fmr. Mayor, Wilmington

Text
Dan Balz
Political Correspondent, The Washington Post

Text
Steve Bannon
First interview with the Former Trump adviser

Video
Andrea Bernstein
Author, American Oligarchs

Text
Jill Biden
Wife of Joe Biden

Video
Gwenda Blair
Author, The Trumps

Text
Antony Blinken
Biden Campaign Adviser

Text
John Bolton
Fmr. National Security Adviser

Video
Carol Moseley Braun
D-Illinois

Video
Jim Clyburn
D-South Carolina

Video
Jelani Cobb
Writer, The New Yorker

Text
Jim Dowd
Public Relations Director, The Apprentice

Text
Marc Fisher
Co-author, Trump Revealed

Text
Rudy Giuliani
Trump Attorney

Video
David A. Graham
Political Writer, The Atlantic

Text
Don Graves
Fmr. Biden Policy Director

Text
Christina Greer
Author, Black Ethnics

Text
Gary Hart
D-Colorado

Text
Nikki Haskell
Trump Friend

Text
John Hendrickson
Senior Editor, The Atlantic

Video
Valerie Jarrett
Fmr. Obama Adviser

Video
Jim Jordan
R-Ohio

Text
Ted Kaufman
Biden Adviser

Text
Michael Kruse
Senior Writer, Politico

Text
Jeanne Marie Laskas
Correspondent, GQ

Text
Mark Leibovich
National Correspondent, The New York Times Magazine

Text
Steven Levingston
Book Editor, The Washington Post

Text
Corey Lewandowski
Fmr. Trump Campaign Manager

Video
Wesley Lowery
Author, They Can't Kill Us All

Video
Omarosa Manigault
Contestant, The Apprentice

Text
David Marcus
Cousin of Roy Cohn

Video
Jane Mayer
Chief Washington Correspondent, The New Yorker

Text
Sandy McIntosh
Trump Classmate

Text
Peggy Noonan
Political Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

Video
Jack O'Donnell
Author, Trumped!

Text
Evan Osnos
Journalist, The New Yorker

Text
Valerie Biden Owens
Sister of Joe Biden

Video
James Poniewozik
Television Critic and Author

Text
Barbara Res
Former VP, Trump Organization

Text
Chris Ruddy
Trump Friend and Adviser

Text
Yusef Salaam
Central Park Five Defendant

Video
Anthony Scaramucci
Fmr. White House Communications Director

Video
Tony Schwartz
Co-Author, Trump: The Art of the Deal

Text
Bobby Scott
D-Virginia

Text
Fred Sears
Biden Friend

Text
Bakari Sellers
Political Analyst, CNN

Video
Cliff Sims
Author, Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House

Video
Richard 'Mouse' Smith
Biden Friend

Text
Roger Stone
Former Trump Adviser

Text
Louise Sunshine
Former Trump Adviser

Text
Mary Trump
Donald Trump's Niece

Video
Curtis Wilkie
Journalist

Text
Angela Wright
Clarence Thomas Accuser

Video
Surya Yalamanchili
Contestant, The Apprentice

Text
Jason Zengerle
Political Journalist, The New York Times Magazine

Text

Interviews for this film were conducted by Michael Kirk, Jim Gilmore, Gabrielle Schonder, and Mike Wiser of the Kirk Documentary Group and edited for the web by Phil Bennett and Lauren Prestileo. The Transparency Project is produced by Phil Bennett and Lauren Prestileo.

 

Design and build for The Choice 2020 by Dan Nolan and Anthony DeLorenzo with assistance from Kimberly Patch. Video editing by Kenzie Audette. Copy editing by Julie Wolf. Additional assistance from Dale Cohen, Miles Alvord, Olivia DelVecchio, Priyanka Boghani, Sarah Childress, Lila Hassan, Shantal Riley, Patrice Taddonio, Zoe Todd, and Jennifer Wehunt.

Support Provided By