The Circus Season 1, Episode 18: Closing the Gap

1

The Outsiders

The campaigns of three "outsiders" - Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump - are given behind-the-scenes attention on the road to the Iowa caucus. Series premiere.

29 min

2

Prisoner's Dilemma

The second episode follows Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Chris Christie, former Gov. Jeb Bush and Gov. John Kasich as they prepare for the all-important, first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire.

29 min

3

Tension City

This episode follows the angst and drama leading up to the Iowa caucuses, with a showdown brewing between Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and the GOP's first real test of outsider candidates versus the establishment.

29 min

4

The Big Mo

The fourth episode goes inside the Iowa fallout and the momentum leading into New Hampshire's primary. Who¿s got it? Who doesn't? And how can the Clinton and Trump campaigns pick up the pace to beat back the surge of Sanders and Cruz?

29 min

5

The Winnowing

From the electric jolt of New Hampshire to the hard truths coming up in South Carolina and Nevada. Trump tastes victory, Kasich picks up momentum - and Bush faces the prospect of an impending do-or-die reality.

29 min

6

Fear and Loathing

As the campaigns head towards the final stretch leading to Nevada and South Carolina, there's growing anxiety among both frontrunners and stragglers about just how high the stakes are - and the significance of falling behind.

29 min

7

Confidence Game

With the field narrowed down to The Big Five, the campaigns spread their game across the country and play to their strengths - with eyes squarely focused on the all-important upcoming prize: Super Tuesday.

29 min

8

The Reckoning

With big wins for the frontrunners on Super Tuesday the rest of candidates are reckoning with the results. But the biggest story of all might be one both Democratic and Republican establishments can agree on: how do they stop Trump?

29 min

9

Dead or Alive

It's make or break time for Rubio, Kasich and Sanders. As the candidates pin their hopes on Florida and Ohio, can they gather enough momentum to force a brokered convention - or will their campaigns finally run out of steam?

29 min

10

High Hopes

While Rubio gets trumped in Florida, the rest of the candidates remain cautiously optimistic. But are high hopes what they need to pull off a win and secure the nomination - or are they just delusional?

29 min

11

Home And Abroad

Foreign policy comes to the fore as the political climate grows fiery in the wake of the attacks in Brussels. As Trump and Clinton prepare to square off, can either of them prove their presidential mettle in handling the heat?

29 min

12

On Wisconsin

Ahead of a Wisconsin showdown the candidates crisscross the state in pursuit of competing agendas. Can Kasich, Cruz or Sanders secure their position as spoilers - or will Clinton and Trump finally be crowned their party's Big Cheese?

29 min

13

Circus Recap

From the early primary battles to the Super Tuesday showdown and beyond, pull back the curtain on the 2016 presidential race with Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon - and catch up on the electrifying first twelve weeks.

29 min

14

Game On

While the nation celebrates July 4th, Trump and Clinton engage in their own fireworks. With the reemergence of Clinton's email scandal and Trump's latest faux pas, the titans go on the attack to take each other down.

29 min

15

Veepstakes

No president is complete without a veep. As Trump auditions Chris Christie, Mike Pence and Newt Gingrich and Clinton considers Tim Kaine, can the candidates find the right-hand man for the job who will make, not break, their campaign?

29 min

16

The Trump Show

The political circus goes into overdrive as Trump is crowned the Republican nominee - and Melania, controversially, speaks! Capitalizing on his children to help humanize his image, can Trump plus Pence finally rally a unified party?

29 min

17

In the Arena

The jeers and boos of Sanders diehards ring out in Philadelphia, before the Democrats at last make Hillary a historic nominee. But is shattering a glass ceiling enough for Clinton and Kaine to unite the party into a winning coalition?

29 min

18

Closing the Gap

With ten weeks to go until the election the Trump campaign finds itself running from behind. As members of his party start to publicly jump ship, can Trump find a way to close the gap with Clinton or will he just fall further behind?

29 min

19

Fit to Serve

As Clinton's pneumonia and scrutiny about Trump's medical records comes to the forefront, their fitness to lead is questioned.

29 min

20

Battleground

As Clinton and Trump prepare for their first debate, their campaigns target the swing states with an eye on Florida.

29 min

21

The Newsrooms

Preparations for the debate; the candidates cede the spotlight to those who cover the political news.

29 min

22

Tale of the Tape

The fallout from the second debate and the current scandal surrounding a recently publicized audio tape.

29 min

23

From Russia With Love

Clinton faces the scandal of her highly sensitive, private emails being made public on WikiLeaks, amid claims of foreign hacking and intervention and international espionage of the 2016 election.

29 min

24

His Word as Biden

With only two weeks until election day, Clinton bets on the one man who has the potential to swing those states still up for grabs: Joe Biden.

29 min

25

Nobody F... Knows

Polls predict the differing outcomes; both campaigns make a case in "far-fetched battlegrounds"; to most, the race is either up for grabs or already decided.

29 min

26

President Trump

In a special hour-long episode of the real-time documentary series, Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon go behind the scenes of both campaigns in the lead up to Election Day - and the fallout that followed.

29 min