cassius turvey died in hospital ten days after he was beaten with a metal rod. now on bbc news, panorama. crowd chants: we love trump! we love trump! people started showing up here yesterday to see the former president speak. train horn blares. that's the longest train i've ever seen. is donald trump coming back? # hold on, i'm coming...#. tomorrow's midterm elections in the us could fire the starting gun on a trump run for the presidency in two years�* time. is there anybody here who would like to see me run again? applause. trump still dominates the republican party. if president trump chooses

to run, i think president trump will be the nominee. democrats hope the prospect of a trump comeback will spark a voter backlash. it's so absurd, right? people who are looking i to trump as their saviour, it's so absurd. the presidential election of 2020 was rigged and stolen. with many republicans believing victory was stolen from donald trump two years ago, we ask, is america's political system in peril? for a long time, we've told ourselves that american i democracy is guaranteed, but it's not. _ it comes down to this, do you want to live in a democracy or don't you? america, buckle up, buckle up.

johnston county, north carolina. a rural republican community in a key battleground state. i came here to try to understand why — after a presidency rocked by scandals, violence and impeachments — donald trump is still so adored. he just wasn't given a chance. he was vilified by the media and by politicians on both sides of the aisle because he was a threat, because he wasn't a status—quo politician. i believe he wanted to be a great president. rick and sam walker,

middle—class republicans, are in more financial pain than they can ever remember. remember those days of a year—and—a—half ago? $1.87 a gallon for a car. now, you know what everyone is saying? "let's buy a smaller car, darling, we don't like this big car any more. "we don't want a truck, we want a tiny little car, "as little as it can be." i bought my truck two years ago and it was $65 to fill the tank. i'll never forget it. my wife, first time she saw me fill it up, we were leaving church like, "you just bought a truck that costs $65 to fill up." and about two months ago, she saw me fill it up for 140. rick and sam never thought they'd struggle to pay for basics. i'm also working two jobs, you know? - and so is rick. yeah. so if the economy wasn't i in the spot it's in right now, i may not be doing that. so... two parents, fourjobs. and debt. ijust added this - portion on this year... sam grows her own vegetables to help with the family's rocketing food bills.

right now, it's really hard l for people to buy groceries. you know, you go in, - you grab a couple of things. you've already spent $100. i've been growing food for a while, but my... i my need, my... sorry. - it's ok. it's all good. i mean, it is tough right now, right? it's really tough. yeah. gas prices. it's a lot. i think, um, i think parents are feeling a lot of fear. . now, the middle class is being crushed by the highest gas and food prices in the history of our country. the aftershocks of the pandemic, and the war in ukraine, are also being felt

here, but republicans blame president biden�*s trillion—dollar spending programme for america's woes. we are in a death spiral. we have out—of—control inflation. we have american families that are struggling to put food on the table. # this girl is on fire. voters tomorrow will decide who sits in congress. the law—making branch of the government. one third of senate seats and all 435 house seats are up for grabs. sandy smith wants to win one of them. good afternoon, patriots! god is good. amen. sandy's a big trump fan. our country was much better off under president trump. two years after leaving office, donald trump has roared back,

and proved he's still the republican pa rty�*s kingmaker. candidates scramble for his backing. sandy, and you have my total endorsement, and you get out and win that race. she's going to be terrific. thanks, sandy. it's one of the most sought—after endorsements and i was honoured to have it. i'd like to ask ted budd to come on up and say a few words. donald trump has endorsed more than 200 candidates in tomorrow's midterm elections. not all republicans support the former president but, for many, the decision is simple — trump is the ticket. wow, mr president! i think it's very important. his endorsement really rallies the party. it rallies our base. usa! donald trump has not yet announced whether he will run for president again.

many believe tomorrow's outcome is the test. is he still popular enough to win the republican nomination, and could he get back to the white house in 202a? is there anybody here who would like to see me run again? applause. january 6th. the final chapter of donald trump's presidency, but the beginning of a new era. what happened at the capitol that day has since snowballed into something much bigger — a dedicated movement of millions who no longer believe american democracy works. chanting: stop the steal! stop the steal! _ two years ago, around 10,000 people made their way to washington to support trump's claim that the 2020 election had been stolen from him. trump supporters from

north carolina were there. we wanted to go and support president trump. the way our elections are supposed to be run, they weren't doing that in certain states. that's what i was angry about. during his speech, trump stoked the anger that would become an insurrection. we fight, we fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country any more. usa! rick and sandy say they didn't take part in the violence that followed trump's speech that day, but many did. fight for trump. by the end of january 6th, nearly 140 police officers had been injured and four people had died. officer down, get him up! later, nearly a thousand

were arrested. donald trump's role in the events of that day is still being investigated. but in the two years since the violence, he hasn't toned down his angry message. he's ramped it up. the presidential election was rigged and stolen. of 2020 was rigged and stolen. the election was rigged and stolen. they rigged the election. the election was rigged and stolen. the election was rigged. it was a disgrace. that saturation of rhetoric l works on individuals to then say there must have been - something wrong because we've heard about it for months now. once you hit people enough times with this rhetoric, - they will buy whatever you are selling. - i believe that the elections were stolen.

i know in my gut that trump had the support of the american people. i think we definitely need to relook at the 2020 election and see what really happened. republican house candidate sandy smith has tweeted that there was a global cover—up of the "stolen election" and that those found guilty of treason should be executed, but she wasn't keen to elaborate. do you stand by that? if there's somebody that's been tried and is convicted of treason, sure. who are you referring to? i think there's definitely people that we need to look at and investigate. yes. — can you say who they are? mean... — i mean, i don't think... i think that, you know, those folks will, you know, will come forward. you know, we'll take a look at them when we take back control of the house. who are you talking about?

yeah, we're not going to go there. facts are not facts any more. despite 60 court cases saying that there hasn't been - a shred of evidence, - we still hear them talking about it, but there is no evidence whatsoever. because the election wasn't stolen. - but it seems nothing will convince the tens of millions who trust trump over the courts. and now, they're doubly outraged. they believe that a man who shouldn't be president has wrecked the economy. trump is their saviour. but driving a few miles north ofjohnston county, you enter a whole different world. this is the triangle — made up of the cities of raleigh, chapel hill and durham. this part of north carolina is affluent, multicultural

and staunchly democrat. there's a lot of innovation happening and there's a lot of energy, and it'sjust a dynamic area to be in. daisy magnus—aryitey runs code the dream, an organisation that trains young people from diverse backgrounds to getjobs in north carolina's expanding tech industry. we've seen students go on to some of the biggest tech companies in the triangle and around the country as well, starting out at salaries $60,000 $70,000, $80,000 a year. this area has now become north carolina's very own silicon valley. we have some big breaking news this morning. - apple, born and bred - in california, is now putting down roots on the east coast. a $1 billion facility. creating at least 3000 newjobs

in research triangle park. - a rapidly growing tech hub, with well—paid jobs, is good news for those with the skills to take advantage of them. but many here feel left behind. over the last 30 years, north carolina's lost 400,000 jobs in manufacturing. overseas manufacturing decimated the textile industry and the furniture manufacturing industry in this state, and then the decline of tobacco and the decline of cigarettes really had a profound impact on the economy. the picture's the same in many parts of rural america. across the country, these changes have been met with fear and frustration. i think what donald trump was able to do was really

articulate a lot of their concerns, a lot of the grievances. the dynamic of, you have something worth saving, you are resentful of those folks in the big cities, those college—educated people. that grievance politics has a profound power. we will fight for more north carolina factories forging more products with stamped and, you know what that beautiful phrase is, made in the usa. and we will make america great again. thank you, north carolina, thank you. god bless you. there is a message out there that if we kind of go back to a time when america was so—called great, that some people would be able

to access that sense of security again. the problem with that message is that we know that a lot of those jobs are being lost as technology expands. the economic growth in this part of north carolina has been accompanied by profound demographic changes. the hispanic and asian populations here are growing at a faster rate than almost anywhere else in the country. nationally, it's forecast that white people will no longer be the majority ethnic group by 2044. daisy believes it's all a recipe for further polarisation. it is so hard for me to say it, that america is a divided country. but it's undeniable that it is. karen ziegler is a democratic activist who lives in the triangle.

she thinks that the other side of the divide is becoming more extreme. republican positions. are increasingly radical. it's moving us forward - into an autocratic government and a way of life where our- freedoms are severely limited. in june, conservative supreme courtjudges handed back power to individual states to make decisions about abortion rights. that means if republicans do well tomorrow, north carolina could ban many abortions. on the streets of raleigh, there's anger and fear. chanting: my body, my choice! and it's energising some voters. when i go out canvassing and i ask people -

if they're going to vote, the women say, "hell yes." i think it's dawning on young women l that it will reallyl affect their lives, this change that the - supreme court has made. but rural north carolina is deep bible belt country. like many christians here, sam believes abortion is morally wrong, even in cases of rape. it is still a child. that child did not have an opinion on how he came into this world. a woman in that situation should be forced to carry the child to term? i mean, that's what you're saying. i do. if god gives you a child, there's a reason for it— and its life is valuable. i feel that abortion is murder. all these divisions are now physically pulling people apart. research today shows that

americans find it increasingly important to live around people who share their political values. one america is largely rural, white and conservative. the other is urban, diiverse and liberal. take economics, take politics, take culture _ it is very much - a two—america system. in general, these communities are moving more democratic. or moving more republican. we have very few areas where people can kind of talk to people of the other side i and not necessarily- see them as the enemy. do you think that this community has become more divided in the last two years? oh, absolutely. 100%. i know a lot of people who used to be great friends and they no longer speak.

they would be able to say, "let's agree to disagree," you know, that's like what america is made up of, right? we all have our own opinions. we can agree to disagree and it's ok. it's no longer ok. do you have any republican friends? trump—supporting friends? no, i don't. trump is weaving this spell on his supporters. - he has a hypnotic effect on them _ and it-sjust— a continual barrage of lies. it's so absurd, right? people who are looking i to trump as their saviour, it's so absurd. our values are being desecrated. our heritage is being obliterated and our country is being humiliated by a president who has no idea what the hell is going on. cheering division has always worked for donald trump. if trump—backed candidates take control of the house and possibly the senate tomorrow, as many predict,

it will set up the prospect of a trump/biden rerun in 2024. remember what happened last time? our country has had enough. we will not take it anymore. we will stop the steal. cheering in the days leading up to the stop the steal rally onjanuary 6, donald trump became increasingly desperate. trump had lost the state of georgia byjust over 11,000 votes. onjanuary 2, trump called brad raffensperger, georgia's top election official, with an extraordinary request. phone ringing a tape recording of the call was obtained by the washington post.

brad raffensperger is a republican, but he stood firm under intense pressure. all we ever did was look at the facts. and in this office, facts are your friend. now, if you're a candidate and you come up short, they may not be your friend. but that's your problem. not my problem. we follow the law. we follow the constitution. if you come up short, you know it's your right. you can run again. but at the end of the day, ourjob is to make sure we have honest and fair elections. and that's what we did in georgia. donald trump is currently being investigated on suspicion of soliciting election fraud. we have his voice saying,

"look, all i need you to find me is 11,000 more votes. "and i win georgia." now, the ironic thing l is if that had happened and he won georgia, he still wouldn't have won the presidency, but that l would have given him ammunition to then go to states _ like arizona or other states - to say, "look what georgia did, "they found me the votes - you need to find me the votes" and that just starts. the domino effect of destroying a democracy. so, i was very thankful- that we've got that audio tape because the words - that donald trump spoke are the inditement against him. brad raffensperger stood up to trump. but next time around, there could be trump—backed officials overseeing elections who are willing to help.

there are candidates in several key states who dispute the result of the last election. donald trump won. the corruption - in our election system is a national security threat. when i'm secretary of state of nevada, we're going to fix it. and when my coalition of secretary of state candidates around the country get elected, we're going to fix the whole country and president trump is going to be president again in 2024. worst—case scenario is these i people exercise their authority to reject the will of i the american people and it overturns the basic - fundamentals of a democracy. on the streets of raleigh, karen ziegler�*s been organising protests to highlight the dangers. in many of these states, it's making it possible for extremists to overturn the will of the people. i think we're at a real tipping point.

and if those of us who believe in democracy don't keep pushing, yeah, it could tip. it could tip. january 6 was a dark moment in america's history. amidst the fury that trump had been cheated, the crowd turned its rage on democrat speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. nancy, oh, nancy. where are you, nancy? we're looking for you! calling her name in this really creepy way. i think they would have killed nancy pelosi. the mob didn't get to nancy pelosi onjanuary 6, but ten days ago, a man broke into her san franscisco home.

us house speaker— nancy pelosi's husband paul was severely beaten - with a hammer this morning. the fbi believes the attack was politically motivated. nancy pelosi wasn't home at the time of the break—in, but the attacker�*s reported words were a chilling echo of what happened onjanuary 6. sources saying he shouted, "where is nancy, where is nancy?" a dramatic increase in political violence has been the most sinister legacy of january 6. last year alone, police investigated nearly 10,000 threats made against politicians and the capitol building. president biden believes tomorrow's elections are a battle for the soul of the nation. america must choose to be a nation of hope and unity and optimism or a nation of fear,

division and of darkness. i think we've had too many days where we've embraced fear and not hope, which leads us to the moment we are in right now. the image that sticks in my mind is the security guard. so, the mob was running towards him and he deliberately deflected them in order to protect the congress people and the senators. and he was just so selflessly just standing between us and chaos. i hope we can all rise to the moment similar— to the way he did. many think a strong republican result at the mid—term elections will prompt donald trump to announce he is running for president in 2024. he certainly has a commanding position

in the republican party. if president trump chooses to run, i i think president trump will be the nominee. i he is not one to go quietly into that good night, he does not like to lose. donald trump doesn't have a clear run back to the white house. he's being investigated for soliciting election fraud, obstruction of congress, and he could face charges under the espionage act. there are fears that any prosecution could inflame america's already raw divisions. the government is very corrupt and they are going to doi whatever they have to do to prove to the american people that he did wrong, even if he didn't. i i feel the devil tries to take out anyone on god's path l that does good. i can't figure out what to say to them, honestly. i don't understand why they're continuing to support the party

that is headed by this man. america today is a different place than it was two years ago. the divisions are sharper. the politics darker. the anger more deeply rooted. tomorrow's results could decide whether donald trump will make a return. in 2024, we are going to take back our beautiful, beautiful, beautiful white house. cheering

this is bbc news. i'm lucy grey. our top stories: an army on the move. ukraine says it's making major gains around kherson, a day after russia announced its withdrawal from the southern city. police in australia investigate the killing of an aboriginal teenager. the prime minister calls the attack racially motivated. still too close to call. two days on from the us midterm elections, who controls the senate still hangs in the balance. and the volcanic island providing an out—of—this—world experience for europe's trainee astronauts.