this is "nightline." >> tonight, political odd couples. divided families. >> keith thinks i'm a conspiracy theori theorist. >> i like to deal with facts. >> divided friends. >> i'm the crazy christian, he's the mad iranian, and we get along with fred and barney. >> trying to find peace on the home front during the battle over ballots. >> we would look at each other,

sometimes in disgust, who are you. >> how to repair a fractured nation. plus flashpoint flashback. >> now you know that florida is from our point of view too close to call. >> myth busting the 2000 election under our magnifying glass. why the bush/gore recount in florida does not compare to the trump/biden showdown. a salute for service from a grateful nation. "nightline" will be right back. ? scrub less with dawn ultra it's superior grease-cleaning formula gets to work faster, making easy work of tough messes dawn takes care of tough grease, wherever it shows up. scrub less, save more...with dawn it's following your passion to bto the very top...

...and setting the standard by which all who follow, will be measured. tequila herradura, the world's most gold medal awarded tequila. [what's this?] oh, are we kicking karly out? we live with at&t. it was a lapse in judgment. at&t, we called this house meeting because you advertise gig-speed internet, but we can't sign up for that here. yeah, but i'm just like warming up to those speeds. you've lived here two years. the personal attacks aren't helping, karly. don't you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something? [ muffled scream ] stop living with at&t. xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. it's following your passion to bto the very top... ...and setting the standard by which all who follow, will be measured. tequila herradura, the world's most gold medal awarded tequila.

♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, the election exposing the deep partisan divide in america. pitting neighbor against neighbor. unable to see beyond red and blue. now finding hope to replace the hate. and yet putting in the work to bridge the divide sometimes begins at home. here's my "nightline" coanchor byron pitts. >> so i am a conservative, and i voted for trump. >> i'm a lifelong democrat, and i probably voted for joe biden. >> reporter: jerry and reagan long are a true odd couple. she's red, he's blue. during a time when democrats and republicans can't seem to agree on anything. >> when pennsylvania was called for biden and biden was president-elect, i felt like 100 pounds had jumped off my back.

>> i'm saying, it's not over till it's over. i think things doctoring to change. i really do think trump's going to stay in office. >> reporter: they're trying their best. [ crying baby ] most days, at least. >> we looked at each other almost as strangers at many points the last several months. >> reporter: at home in north carolina, their house deeply divided, even after 15 years together and five children. >> i'm not sure how to phrase this delicately. how the hell are you two married? >> well, ironically, we got a divorce from each other. we got remarried to each other just this past july. we've always known each other's political beliefs. they've never been an issue. that wasn't part of our first divorce to each other. >> reporter: a marital tug-of-war, where mr. and mrs. seem to come from two different planets. he wears a mask, she doesn't. she thinks the election was

rigged, he thinks she's dead wrong. >> he thinks i'm a conspiracy theorist. >> i like to deal with facts. >> it seems we got very heated over this election. we would look at each other sometimes in disgust of, who are you? >> i feel like we have to give the republicans some time. i know they're not accepting it right now. >> and would you? are you going to accept it if trump stays in office? are you going to move forward and heal? >> i don't have to entertain that. because i absolutely unequivocally know that will not be the case. >> and i know you will expect me to treat him with respect, and you would want our children to treat him with respect. i wish i could say the same that you did that for our current president. and that's the problem with our country. >> what i hear from you two already, again as part of this divide, not that i'm right and you're wrong, but part what was i'm hearing is, not only in am i right, you're stupid.

>> yeah. >> basically. i think that would be accurate. >> we love trump! >> reporter: in a nation so bitterly divided, americans are becoming more strangers than neighbors. political upheaval. economy fractured as the nation continues to reel from the covid-19 pandemic. the white house still falsely beating the drum of a stolen election. over a dozen lawsuits filed, most have failed. attorney general william barr authorizing an unprecedented federal probe of allegations of voting irregularities despite a lack of evidence. gop leaders rallying around the president. secretary of state mike pompeo on tuesday refusing to accept president-elect biden's victory. >> there will be a smooth transition to a second trump administration. >> reporter: leading americans to ask, how does a divided nation come together after a tumultuous election season? and when does the healing begin? dr. mariel bouquet is a clinical psychologist who focuses on

healing relationships, wounds, and trauma. >> when people feel as though some aspect of their life is being threatened, they see people that are unlike them as an "other." they see that person as a likely target. because they feel the need to protect themselves. and so in comes this experience of us and them. and so it creates this divisiveness. it creates the divide of -- perhaps even the divide of much of what we're seeing within this nation. >> reporter: outside of dayton, ohio, greg smith and kuyar mushtafi, two ends of a political widening divide. we met them in 2018 just before the midterm elections. rick is a retired police chief and construction worker, a devout evangelical, ardent trump supporter. >> i really believe in his values. i really believe that he loves this country. >> what time is your music class tomorrow?

>> 2:00. >> reporter: kumyar lives a few miles away. he emigrated from iran, works as a computer engineer, and active member of the local democratic party. >> after the election, i was devastated. i was ready to cut every republican out of my life. >> reporter: these two men with seemingly irreconcilable differences became friends through a group then called "better angels" which brings together reds and blues with the goal of "depolarizing america." the group now called braver ang angels, their end goal not to change minds but to reach what they call accurate disagreement, which can lead to mutual understanding. >> when you get past the stereotype part of everything, you've got it beat. you've got it beat. >> to me it was nice to also see his other side and the fact that he wants to listen to me and learn about my background. >> reporter: they ended up visiting one another's places of worship. friendship grew from there.

we caught up with them after this year's election results. >> i believe that president donald trump will be inaugurated on january 20th, 2021. >> reporter: both men working for ohio's board of elections, denying allegations of voter fraud in their own state, but smith believing it's likely in other states. >> i do believe that there will be some blue states that will have to flip back over to the president. >> so far, based on the allegations of fraud that have been brought on by president trump campaign, they have not brought up anything substantial. >> reporter: despite their differences, the two continue to forge common ground in seas of uncertainty. >> i think we need to start listening to each other. as citizens we need to wh- and s is my prayer every night. we need to start reaching out to each other and embrace each other. the best example is greg and me. so i plead to the nation, try to have a respectful conversation

and realize that we're in this thing together. >> i'm the crazy christian, he's the mad iranian, and we get along like fred and barney. >> we have a host of different moral beliefs. and we still haven't necessarily learned how to bridge the conversation so that every perspective and every moral code is accepted and integrated. we can start having conversations about how can we bridge each other's moral codes and find middle ground? we can actually have conversations that can be more productive and more centered on how we can progress on to the future. >> reporter: what happens when these fundamental disagreements live under the same roof? >> for years i was under the impression that she had voted for barack obama and a second term, until i overheard her at a party we were at and she had mentioned to someone, terry still doesn't know that i voted for mitt romney over barack obama. i said, what was that? >> what was a typical back and

forth between you over biden/trump? wow, you both rolled your eyes. >> i'll be honest. we have gotten very heated. there's been some explicits, there's been door-slamming, there's been some bad name-calling. >> reporter: sure, the longs' partisan squabbling might seem unsustainable, but they say it's rooted in the one thing the world sorely needs, love. >> you clearly disagree on politics. how do you make your relationship work? >> i truly feel what holds us together is, we thrive being in survival mode constantly. we're a family of seven. even though we've really been butting heads a lot lately, we're excellent partners as parents for the betterment of our kids. school and sports and church and so there's times we'll give each other a high five or fist bump, even if we don't like each other. i'm like, gosh, we do this good together. >> why not say, you stand on my

side of the river, i'll stay on my side of the river, good luck to you? >> i think that's what we're going to have to do. i think if biden gets in fs, i have the personality to be respectful, to accept that, and to be the bigger person, i really do. i think that will be more helpful to our marriage. >> yeah, i think we can handle it better when it's just her and i. it's going to get tough because i feel like it's just going to continue to be split. >> reporter: teamwork is at the core of their union. the core of their healing. one team focused more on the future and what unites them, not what divides them. >> how do you two end the night if the day's been like this all day? >> we pass out. like putting one kid to bed, the baby, another kid, brush your teeth -- >> you start another day. then literally, a minute later we're like, remember, you have to take so-and-so to that soccer practice, but i'm going to pick her up -- it's just like, yep, got it, okay, love you, and out

the door we go. i think in 2021, things are really going to calm down. i feel like it's not going to be top of mind as much as it is now. >> our thanks to byron. coming up, separating fact from fiction. election day turmoil then and now already. times veteran life brings more. - [announcer] as america's veterans face challenges, dav is there. - [greg] i'm greg gadson, army veteran. - [announcer] dav helps veterans and their families get the benefits they've earned. - [greg] today, i'm an entrepreneur, a photographer, a public speaker, and i never tire of standing tall. - [announcer] with the right support, more veterans can reach victories, great and small. - [greg] my victory is just being the best that i can be. - [announcer] support more victories for veterans. go to dav.org. are my smile can't compete. on for this? - [announcer] support more victories for veterans. anyone? mmm. nope! for a smile that's always camera -ready. crest 3d white removes 95% of stains in just 3 days.

so, what sho♪ d we do today? wow. can we get some sun? ♪ uh, mom? can we go to the beach? (beep beep beep) should we just go see a movie? yes! i'm always up for a good movie. go rogue in the all-new, fiercely reimagined nissan rogue. vicks vapopatch. easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. trusted soothing vapors, from vicks but some things are too serious to be ignored. if you still have symptoms of crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis even after trying other medications,

it may be a sign of damaging inflammation, which left untreated, could get much worse. please make an appointment to see your gastroenterologist right away. or connect with them online. once you do, seeing the doctor is one less thing to worry about. need help finding a doctor? head to crohnsandcolitis.com it's made for this guy a veteran who honorably served and it's made for her she's serving now we made it for all branches and all ranks whether they served one tour or made a career of it. we also made usaa for military spouses and their kids usaa is easy to work with and can save you money on auto, home and renters insurance. become a member today. get an insurance quote at usaa.com/quote usaa. what you're made of we're made for

get an insurance quote at usaa.com/quote ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (beeping sound) ♪ ♪ ...this one's for you. you inspired us to make your humira experience even better... with humira citrate-free. it has the same effectiveness you know and trust, but we removed the citrate buffers, there's less liquid, and a thinner needle... with less pain immediately following injection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. and you can use your co-pay card to pay as little as $5 a month. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections,...

...including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened,... ...as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,... ...serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common... and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,... or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your doctor about humira citrate-free. the same humira you trust with less pain immediately following injection. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. ♪ some trump loyalists are comparing two presidential elections 20 years apart. bush v. gore, trump v. biden. but there's very little to compare and much, much more to

contrast. >> let us be the nation we know we can be, a nation united. >> reporter: it's been four days since president-elect joe biden was projected the winner of one of the most fractious and divisive elections of our lifetimes. >> this is the time to heal in america. >> reporter: and while the president-elect has offered words of comfort, the sitting president and his team continue to question the results, refusing to concede. >> there will be a smooth transition to a second trump administration. >> reporter: since their loss, president trump and his legal teams' latest maneuver, reaching out to republican-controlled state legislatures. in places like pennsylvania and wisconsin. with claims of voting irregularities. >> first of all, obviously you're not going to concede when at least 600,000 ballots are in question. >> reporter: to date there is no evidence of those alleged ballots in question. the trump team has also filed more than a dozen lawsuits in five states without apparent evidence. at least eight of those lawsuits have been thrown out by judges so far.

>> the trump campaign has begun basically an all-out legal blitz now. >> al gore doing this 20 years ago, that was perfectly fine, so i notice a bit of a double standard. >> reporter: president trump's strategy of delay and postpone drawing false parallels to the 2000 disputed election between president bush and his democratic challenger al gore. some in the republican party are rallying around the president's cause. >> we have not finished counting votes. there are states that have not been called. in 2000, al gore was given his day in court. we should give president trump his day in court. let the process unfold. >> reporter: but the two situations could not be any more different. >> joe biden has already won michigan by almost 150,000 votes. he's ahead in pennsylvania by 50,000 votes. he's ahead in wisconsin by 20,000 votes. any one state today is not going to decide the election because of the comfortable lead that joe biden has. >> reporter: 20 years ago, it all came down to one state, florida. >> it was one state, a handful

of votes. just a few hundred votes. and the presidency rode on it. florida was a battle ground unlike any we've ever had in presidential elections. the entire presidency came down to a few hundred votes in one state. and so you can imagine the fight that was waged over those votes. >> this being billed as the polls close before the election as the closest election in a generation. >> reporter: election night, november 8th, 2000. by 7:00 p.m., gore seemed to have won florida. but as the night wore on, the media and the public became more and more uncertain. >> nbc news projects al gore wins the state of florida. >> a big call to make, cnn announces that we call florida in the al gore column. >> reporter: national media outlets initially called florida for al gore, only to backtrack a couple of hours later. >> stand by, stand by. cnn right now is moving our

earlier declaration of florida back to the too close to call column. >> it was a terrible night for the mass media. all the networks called florida for gore. there was a problem, however. a part of florida, the panhandle, is in a different time zone. and they hadn't stopped voting. and it turns out that those votes, at least then the networks thought, were enough to give george bush the state. then they call it for bush. >> reporter: by 3:00 a.m., multiple major networks reversed their florida call in favor of bush. but two hours later, they had all retracted. >> it is now equally probable that either candidate can win. >> reporter: at this point neither george bush nor al gore had the necessary 270 electoral votes. matt dowd was the bush campaign's director of polling and media planning. >> i knew all along and i relayed to the rest of the campaign that i thought florida was going to be the decision point of the race.

just from looking at all the polls, looking at all the data, looking at all the demographics. >> reporter: the night ended with no clear winner, and only a slim margin separated gore and bush from the white house. problems with an outdated punch card system only compounded the confusion. >> looked like there were i think 300-some votes separating bush from gore. and therefore the presidency. and so gore decided to take the case to court. but only in a few counties. he wanted a hand recount in four counties. democratic counties. that didn't seem fair to bush, and the thing got up to the florida supreme court. the florida supreme court said, no, just count all the votes. let's have a hand recount of the entire state of florida. one of the things they said is, when you're counting the votes, you try to determine the intent of the voter. and that's where you get the hanging chads. the famous pictures of people looking at the florida ballots to see if somebody hadn't punched the ballot sufficiently

to punch out the piece of paper, the chad, and was hanging there. >> reporter: five weeks later after multiple recounts and lawsuits, the bush campaign filed an appeal to the u.s. supreme court. >> the state supreme court said, keep the recount going. the bush campaign then appealed it to the united states supreme court to basically say, we need to end the recount. and that's what the supreme court decided on a 5-4 decision, to end the recount. and by ending the recount, they basically decided the election. george bush wins florida, george bush wins the electoral college. >> reporter: at no point did ca fraud. and no matter what claims trump and his team make this year, without proof, the votes still stand. >> a tweet is not evidence. a press conference across the street from a sex shop is not evidence. a wild claim is not evidence. evidence comes into court and is subjected to the rules of

evidence, to the process of an adversarial inquiry, where we count on the truth to emerge. and so far, he hasn't made a case anywhere. up next, a salute to our vets. ♪ alexa, tell roomba to vacuum in front of the couch. experience clean in a whole new way. now roomba offers you personalized cleaning suggestions and vacuums exactly where you need it. by getting to know you and your home, roomba makes cleaning easier than ever before. so say goodbye to cleaning and hello to clean. hey google, tell roomba to vacuum the dining room table. roomba and the irobot home app. only from irobot.

roomba and the irobot home app. you try to stay ahead of the but scrubbing still takes time. now there's powerwash dish spray it's the faster way to clean as you go just spray, wipe and rinse it cleans grease five times faster dawn powerwash. spray, wipe, rinse. so are we. prudential helps 1 in 7 americans with their financial needs. that's over 25 million people. with over 90 years of investment experience, our thousands of financial professionals can help with secure video chat or on the phone. we make it easy for you with online tools, e-signatures, and no-medical-exam life insurance. plan for better days. go to prudential.com or talk to an advisor.

plan for better days. ♪♪ how can i, when you won't take it from me ♪ ♪ you can go your own way xfinity mobile's fast nationwide 5g network meets the first iphone with 5g. get the new iphone 12 on xfinity mobile. and right now get $250 off. learn more at an xfinity store today.

finally tonight, honoring our heroes this veterans day. president trump at arlington national cemetery. president-elect biden at the korean war memorial in philadelphia. new york veterans gathering at the vietnam war memorial. stars and stripes from sea to shining sea. from lewiston, maine, to yuma, arizona. and in houston, a new house for a homeless vet built by high school kids. part of a program called "students helping veterans: big heroes, tiny homes." and big hearts all around. that's "nightline" for tonight. we'll see you right bac i'm looking at your mri. your shoulder seems to be healing nicely. i'm sorry baby...