America hasn't been divided more than it is now since 1865. Yes, Trump is a divider and he exacerbated the division, but our problems didn't start with him. He's the unwelcome result of the division, which started in 1987 with the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine under President Reagan. To be sure, the Democrats tried to reinstate the rule then but Reagan vetoed it. When they tried again in 1981, POTUS H.W.Bush threatened another veto.
For those of you not familiar with the Fairness Doctrine, it was a 1949 FCC rule that required radio and television stations to broadcast “honest, equitable, and balanced programming”.
Shortly thereafter, Rush Limbaugh ushered in the era of talk radio that's dominated by republican radicals. In 1996, pretend cable news channel Fox News started and the mis/dis-information and twisting of conservative dogma began in earnest.
Yes, the Fairness Doctrine had some problems, but you don't throw away the baby with the bath water. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that a modified version of the FCC rule would have precluded or greatly mitigated right wing media's ability to sow discord in our nation with conspiracy theories and flat out lies.
Until we put some kind check on right wing media, their prevarications will grow wilder and bolder as they did up to the 2016 election. I may be wrong, but IMO allowing right wing media to run wild with the truth, affecting our elections in the meantime, isn't much different than yelling fire in a crowed theater.
Here are two sources I used for my opinion piece.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-lead-to-the-demise-of-respectful-political-discourse_us_58b33175e4b0658fc20f96f6
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/04/17/want-stop-fake-news-reinstate-fairness-doctrine/BpMw4D3s9qLrDwA2geLywN/story.html