The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki reviews the history of American presidents clashing with members of the press but still respecting their First Amendment role, and reports on Donald Trump's declaration that he is banning MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House. Trump previously lost a legal challenge to banning a member of the press, and Psaki notes that Trump's war on the free press hasn't prevented the press from continuing to cover him and his administration.

Terry Moran and Eugene Daniels join to discuss the relationship between presidents and the press, and Donald Trump's thin skin and petty...

Jen Psaki looks at Republican candidates who have purged their campaign materials of mentions of Donald Trump or have avoided events with Trump or Trump officials. Some candidates are even speaking out in defiance of Trump despite having previously been supportive. But Trump is too unpopular now to admit that support.

Even as Republicans insist that technology companies can police themselves to ensure the public is safe from overstepping artificial intelligence and Donald Trump assures Americans that his firm hand is all that is necessary, the artificial intelligence industry continues to make alarming disclosures about the dangerous...

Jen Psaki explains how articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth, filed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, put House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans in an awkward position so he ended the session a day early to avoid having to deal with it. This comes as new reports show that the Trump administration is not being forthcoming about the damage Iran is inflicting on U.S. assets. Senator Mark Kelly joins to share his views on the matter.

The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been working hard to make that...

Jen Psaki shares videos of Donald Trump answering questions about artificial intelligence that suggest that he does not actually know what artificial intelligence is, though he certainly seems aware that it is another area in which he can use his corrupt influence to make himself more wealthier.

Senator Jon Ossoff talks with Jen Psaki about the myriad issues associated with new artificial intelligence technology and how a competent president who could understand the issue beyond how to exploit his power over it to make himself rich would be addressing the matter and using the tool of government...

Jen Psaki shares reporting on the sudden departure of fervent Trump acolyte Joe DiGenova, who had been tasked with proving the existence of a grand conspiracy against Donald Trump and failed to secure even a single indictment. Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann joins to share his insights.

Barbara Starr, former CNN Pentagon correspondent, shares her reflections on the events of September 11th and its aftermath.

Donald Trump's desperation continues to grow with the release of each new poll as results show Trump and the Republican Party falling farther out of favor with the American public...

Jen Psaki talks with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries about Donald Trump's "phony promise" to give every adult in America $5000 and why Trump is resorting to such a transparent gimmick with the midterm elections looming ever closer.

Jen Psaki looks at how JD Vance is trying to distinguish himself from Donald Trump, particularly on Iran policy, while being stuck in the role of making excuses for Trump's poorly considered ideas as he eyes the 2028 presidential race.

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Jen Psaki shares video of Donald Trump weirdly claiming to members of the media that many Republicans did not attend his midterm Republican convention in Texas because there is no enough room for them, even though the event is being held in a massive arena that video shows to have plenty of empty seats.

Jen Psaki looks at Republican candidates trying to distance themselves from Donald Trump so his deep unpopularity will do the least amount of damage to their campaigns, even as Trump insists that associating with him and making himself the central focus of the...

Jen Psaki points out that Republicans should rethink their new talking points that 2026 is an election of common sense versus crazy when they are running so many candidates who would seem to fall into the crazy category.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Jen Psaki about how corruption has become a hallmark of the Trump administration, and why the only road to accountability is with a Congress controlled by Democrats.

Jen Psaki looks at new polling showing that Donald Trump's extreme upopularity is driving down the number of people who identify as Republicans and driving...

Retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, a Democratic candidate for Congress, and Rep. Chris Deluzio, talk with Jen Psaki about how the House and Senate should be using their oversight responsibilities to hold Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth to account for their shambolic handling of the war in Iran and their mismanagement of the U.S. military, and why Americans need to take Republicans out of power in Congress if they want to restore checks and balances to Trump's power.

Jen Psaki looks at how voters in Tarrant County, Texas are livid over a party-line...

Jen Psaki looks at how JD Vance is trying to minimize Donald Trump's war against Iran even as there appears to be a new escalation of fighting and Pete Hegseth is reportedly extending deployments in the Middle East. But as criticism of the administration grows louder, so does criticism of Republicans in charge of Congress as well as military leaders who are not pushing back on Trump's recklessness. Frank Kendall, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force joins to discuss.

Jen Psaki looks at how Elon Musk's tone deafness on issues like data centers and his...

Jen Psaki takes a closer look at how former weekend right-wing cable news host Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's defense secretary, is gutting the top tiers of the U.S. military while doing a poor job handling Donald Trump's inexplicable war on Iran, and running down the U.S. military with wasteful, ill-considered decisions. Rahm Emanual, former Obama White House chief of staff, discusses the crisis of Pete Hegseth's leadership. 

Rahm Emanual, former Obama White House chief of staff, makes an emphatic case to Jen Psaki that the Democratic Socialists of America are their own party, separate from t...

The tech executives who have debased themselves sucking up to Donald Trump and taken advantage of Trump's negligent regulatory attitude are not only feeling direct political pressure over things like addictive algorithms and resource-sucking data centers, but they're recognizing Trump's waning power and the increasingly likelihood that Democrats will not let them off the hook if and when they regain power in the federal government. Rob Flaherty and Jesse Lehrich, co-hosts of the "Nobody Knows Anything" show, join Jen Psaki to discuss.

Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and Janai Nelson, president...

Jen Psaki peels through the layers of a scheme described by a Florida grand jury in which millions of dollars were laundered through charities and ultimately ended up funding political activities. And while the grand jury was not able to identify who to indict in the matter, the people involved, with close ties to outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis, saw their careers advance.

Former Rep. David Jolly, Democratic candidate for Florida governor, talks with Jen about the details of the scheme.

Iowa State Rep. Josh Turek, Democratic candidate for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat, talks wi...

Jen Psaki talks with David Plouffe, Barack Obama's 2008 campaign manager, about the balance of the congressional elections just a few months away from midterm elections, and the challenge Republicans face carrying the burden of Donald Trump's unpopularity when Trump's only campaign idea is to promote himself.

Taken separately, Donald Trump's bad policies are problematic enough, his petulant tariffs, his foolhardy trade wars, his inexplicable war in Iran, his assault on immigrants, etc. But taken together they are a crippling burden hurting both supply and demand as well as resources and materials for operating farms and businesses. Jen...

Jen Psaki relays breaking news that Darline Graham, sister of former Senator Lindsey Graham, is projected to win the South Carolina Republican primary for Seante, overcoming some embarrassing gaffes and apparently benefitting from a strong endorsement from Donald Trump.

Tim Miller, host of the Bulwark podcast, and Jim Messina, former Obama campaign manager, talk about the stakes of the South Carolina Senate race, Trump's extraordinary effort to see his candidate to victory and whether Darline Graham is damaged enough as a candidate to be vulnerable to the very compelling Democratic candidate Annie Andrews.

Jen Psaki...

Jen Psaki reports on the firing by Pete Hegseth's Pentagon of the editor-in-chief of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper, as well as one of its reporters, and considers the broader context of the Trump administration's attacks on the free press and Hegseth's particular battle against independent media. Erik Slavin, now former editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, and Lara Korte, former Middle East reporter for Stars and Stripes join to discuss with Jen Psaki.

A report from the Center for American Progress shows that despite costing a huge amount of money and making huge human resource demands...

Jen Psaki takes a closer look at the bizarre devotion Natalie Harp shows to Donald Trump and her reported behavior that is not at all normal for a presidential aide. And the similarly abnormal role of Jennifer Hegseth, Pete Hegseth's wife, former Fox News producer and awkward shadow in the Trump administration.

Chris Meagher, former chief Pentagon spokesman, and Ned Price, former CIA spokesman, talk with Jen Psaki about the glaring security problems with Donald Trump's aide, Natalie Harp, and Pete Hegseth taking his wife to work with him, and how the relationships undermine the trust of...

Jen Psaki looks at the terrible performance of some of the candidates endorsed by Donald Trump, and the lack of help struggling Republicans candidates are getting from Trump, who may be too unpopular to help them even if he was inclined to do so.

Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for The New York Times and co-author of "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump," and Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America, join to discuss Donald Trump's waning influence in the Republican Party and his fixation on vanity projects instead of midterm elections, as well...

Jen Psaki looks at the collection of shameless and scandal-plagued MAGA candidates running in Florida Republican primary races that leave Trump-era Republican voters wanting for good choices.

Democratic pollster Fernand Amandi and former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina talk with Jen Psaki about why the surprising results of the Florida primary elections point to strong Democratic momentum and a real opportunity for Florida Democratic candidates for the first time in over a decade. Newly nominated Democratic candidate for Senate, Angie Nixon, joins to discuss the key to her "stunning" success despite significantly smaller fundraising and a lower...

Jen Psaki considers Senator Jon Ossoff's charge that Donald Trump doesn't actually want to be president and would rather spend time with his sycophantic aides flying around on his fancy Qatari airplane, and posits that Trump's interest in only the most superficial aspects of the presidency makes his administration more akin to movie production than government.

Senator Jon Ossoff talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to use his position at the top of the U.S. government to enrich himself and his family, and how the outrage over that open corruption is feeding Democratic...

Donald Trump is trying to get around restrictions on the construction of his White House ballroom by arguing that the facility is a military necessity. But as Jen Psaki points out, it's hard to argue the national security purpose of covering everything in gold.

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump's incompetence and mismanagement of his war on Iran has not only wasted physical military resources but has been injurious to service members as well, to the point where family members are having to speak out publicly even as Trump and his sycophants continue to deny there's...

Jen Psaki criticizes the priorities of outgoing Donald Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt for avoiding good faith engagement with real reporters' questions while elevating Trump sycophants.

Senator Mark Kelly talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump making extreme and expensive demands for changes to aircraft carriers without having any idea what he's actually talking about.

 Jen Psaki shares reporting from the New York Times about hundreds of millions of dollars worth of planes purchased by the Department of Homeland Security that are sitting idle because DHS lacked the foresight to realize the cost of maintaining a...

Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby joins MS NOW’s Jen Psaki to discuss Donald Trump’s claims that the United States has “complete control” over the Strait of Hormuz and new reporting for The Washington Post that the CIA questioned the credibility of Israeli intelligence about an Iranian threat to Trump that ultimately led to Trump’s secret flight out of Turkey last month.

MS NOW’s Jen Psaki talks to MS NOW Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Vin Gupta about the dangers of Donald Trump’s executive orde...

Jen Psaki sets the record straight on extraordinary Democratic enthusiasm in this year's midterm elections, as evidenced by exceptional turnout in the primaries so far, and points out that despite the media's obsession with intra-party competition, Democrats are actually very unified with candidates in even the most contentious primaries supporting each other once the contest is over. And meanwhile, Donald Trump's distortion of the Republican Party is producing seriously flawed candidates.

Senator Jon Ossoff points out that between regular leaks to the press and a White House full of advisors with self-interests and ambitions for 2028, it can...

Jen Psaki and a panel of her MS NOW colleagues watch the primary election returns in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Connecticut and discuss the intra-party dynamics this primary season.

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Donald Trump appears to be distancing himself from his own Republican Party, perhaps hoping to avoid association with expected midterm losses, despite being responsible for the unpopularity Republicans are suffering for their association with him. Ben Wikler, former DNC chair, joins to discuss.

How did a long-standing plan by the Department of the Interior to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turn into the mess that would become Donald Trump's highest profile public humiliation (so far)? David Fahrenthold, investigative reporter for the New York Times, talks about his reporting on how the project spun out of control...

Donald Trump and his former cable news weekend co-host defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, are reportedly fighting over who is to blame for wasting U.S. military resources and depleting the U.S. weapons stockpile on Trump's inexplicable war on Iran. Hegseth reportedly blamed his deputy. Rep. Pat Ryan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joins to discuss Trump's foolhardy prosecution of the war.

Donald Trump's brazen corruption is so much a part of his political identity that it has become an election issue unto itself. And when Senator Tim Scott tries to gaslight the American...

Donald Trump's disastrous time in office has left campaigning Republicans with very little to boast about to constituents back home. What they are left with instead is their familiar playbook of culture war scare tactics and divisive distortions to try to scare voters into supporting them. Senator Ted Cruz wasted no time to resort to absurd smears when asked about Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.

One of Donald Trump's endorsed Republican candidates lost the primary election to a guy who was so disfavored to win that news organizations didn't even bother to prepare his photo...

Despite Donald Trump's endless talking about the vandalism he said was done to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Poll, U.S. attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was forced to drop the Justice Department's case against former Olympian David Hearn and admit that the problem with the pool's liner was the fault of the contactor Donald Trump selected.  

The Wall Street Journal reports that after receiving a gift of a massive ring covered in diamonds and other jewels, Donald Trump made an exception from his tariffs for the diamond industry. Rep. Greg Casar discusses how Donld T...

Even as Americans are dealing with the fallout of Elon Musk's devastating cuts to the federal government when Donald Trump let him run amok, with new terrible consequences still coming to light on a regular basis, Musk is reportedly planning on trying to use his vast wealth to influence the midterm elections in favor of Republicans. Polls suggest his involvement may do Republicans more harm than good.

Alex Isenstadt, senior political reporter for Axios, Norm Eisen, founder of Democracy Defenders Action, and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha discuss the many advantages Democrats are pursuing in the midterm elections.<...

White voters without a college education have been a core component of Donald Trump's base and key to putting him in the White House. But a new poll from CNN shows that group now disapproves of Trump more than approves by 8 percentage points. One insight in the poll is that Americans by a wide margin thing Trump is focused on the wrong priorities. Jen Psaki takes a closer look.

Jen Psaki reports on the postponement of a Senate committee vote on the nomination of Donald Trump's former criminal defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, to be attorney general. A...

A mobile version of the Epstein files reading room in New York City, with millions of printed pages of notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's records, is set to go on tour, in part to highlight the mishandling of the files by Trump lawyer and attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche. Miles Taylor, former DHS chief of staff under Donald Trump, joins Jen Psaki to discuss the project.

Senator John Cornyn was primaried out of his job by a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, leaving him in the position of being a lame duck with an axe to grind. One...

Jen Pskai anchors special coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner and talks with a panel of guests about the relationship between Donald Trump and the media.

Jen Psaki reviews The first stretch of Donald Trump's meandering address to attendees of the White House Correspondents' Dinner and talks with Terry Moran, former senior national correspondent for ABC News, and Eugene Daniels, MS NOW's senior Washington correspondent, about the state of the political media and what is motivating Trump's participation in an event he has previously eschewed.

Jen Psaki points out the awkwardness of the White...

Jen Psaki points out that it wouldn't be unreasonable for someone to hear the news that Trump suffered another "subpoena fail" and ask, which one? Most recently, Trump has tried to bully the New York Times after he was embarrassed by reports that his new Qatari jet was not properly outfitted. But as everyone by now has learned, pushback works, and the Times pushed back and Trump is left looking foolish again. Marty Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post

You may have anticipated that Donald Trump's peace "understanding" with Iran would fall apart and the...

Jen Psaki reports breaking news that Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee has referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. Ken Dilanian, MS NOW justice and intel correspondent, joins to explain why the accusation against Smith "doesn't pass the laugh test."

Jen Psaki shows that Donald Trump's spin on his stalled war with Iran is not convincing Americans that it was a good idea, with anecdotes, interviews and polls showing that even supporters who voted for him three times are turning away from him.

Senator Jon Ossoff...

Jen Psaki runs through a litany of Republican candidates this election cycle whose gross behavior, from being sexually inappropriate to allegations of domestic violence have not been meaningful enough to the party to force them out of the race the way Democrats have done with compromised candidate. Jim Messina, former Obama campaign manager, and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha join to discuss what counts as Republican principles in the age of Trump.

Jim Messina, former campaign manager for Barack Obama, points out that after "cost of living," the number two priority for American voters nationally is "corruption," which...

Senator Mark Kelly talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's deeply unpopular war against Iran and the effort the Trump administration is putting into covering up and spinning the truth even though the war and its effects are apparent to any American paying attention.

Terry Moran, former ABC News anchor, talks with Jen about Donald Trump's war on the media and a new low in his intimidation tactics.

Donald Trump's evasion and inaction on accountability for ICE abuses, including shooting Americans dead in the street, is only making Americans more angry and less patient. Senator...

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump's big speech on election security did not get much media attention, even from his most supporting outlets. And the documents he dramatically unveiled were either not new, had already been debunked, or completely contradicted the threat narrative he was trying to stoke. And of course, while some documents contradicted his conspiracy theories about China, others affirmed that he was supported by Russia. 

Gabriel Sterling, special projects manager at the Georgia Secretary of State's office, talks with Jen Psaki about lessons learned from Donald Trump's behavior in the wake of his 2020 e...

Jen Psaki talks with Michael Feinberg, former assistant special agent in charge with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ken Dilanian, MS NOW justice and intelligence correspondent, and her fellow MS NOW host Chris Hayes about the facts and context behind Donald Trump's criticisms of U.S. election security. 

David Rohde, MS NOW senior national security reporter, talks with Jen Psaki about the former federal officials he is in contact with who recognize many of the documents Donald Trump is releasing, and are critical of Trump for excluding information and context that doesn't fit the narrative he is t...

Jen Psaki shows the inherent conflict of trying to stay in Donald Trump's good graces while also showing a panel of Senators that your are honest and forthright and will act in the interest of the American people. Jay Claton, Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, and Todd Blanche, Trump's criminal defense attorney and nominee for Attorney General, both struggled through awkward Senate confirmation hearings in which the things they couldn't say spoke volumes about how (and who) they'll serve if they're confirmed.

Senator Adam Schiff talks with Jen Psaki about why Donald Trump's former...