The Briefing with Jen Psaki

October 8, 2026 - Jen Psaki explains that while a popular president may be able to carry a lackluster candidate with the help of local partisanship, the combination of Donald Trump's abysmal public approval and deeply flawed Republican candidates appears to not only be tipping races toward Democrats, but also changing the minds of voters who might have previously voted Republican by reflex.

October 7, 2026 - Jen Psaki relays new reporting from the Wall Street Journal that Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News host, former Donald Trump Jr. fiance, and current U.S. ambassador to Greece, struggled with debt, begged a Trump donor for $100,000 to pay off her credit card bill, and offered to use her influence in the Trump administration to do favors for the donor ahead of her confirmation hearing.

October 6, 2026 - Jen Psaki hosts the Briefing live from Maine, immediately following the debate between Senate candidates Troy Jackson and Susan Collins.

When Donald Trump boasts that a new steel plant is already under construction in Iowa, who better to check the veracity of that claim than the people in Iowa who live where the plant is supposedly being built? Jen Psaki shares examples of Donald Trump making promises on the campaign trail that have no basis in reality as far as the people most closely connected to the news can tell.

Jen Psaki explains that Donald Trump is hosting another dinner in support of his cryptocurrency meme coin, ignoring the fact that his own followers took massive losses investing in the coin, with many openly disparaging him for it.

September 30, 2026 - Despite the increasingly dangerous global security environment, made even more dangerous by Donald Trump's inexplicable war on Iran and Pete Hegseth's mismanagement of it, Hegseth has devoted his attention to prioritizing a cartoonish image of what it means to be an American servicemember. Michael Steele discusses with veterans Rep. Pat Ryan and Rep. Chris Deluzio.

Jen Psaki shares the events at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee in which Republican Senator Eric Schmitt thought he had caught former special counsel Jack Smith in a perjury gotcha only to be called out for his spectacular failure by Senator Amy Klobuchar who pointed out that Schmitt's blind spot for women's sports led him into what Psaki describes as a "slow-moving self-implosion" leaving Smith unscathed and unflapped.

September 25, 2026 - Jen Psaki unearths past video of Donald Trump decrying state dinners, especially with China, and contrasts them with Donald Trump's literal red carpet treatment of China's President Xi, embarrassing himself and the United States with his fawning admiration. Former U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan joins to discuss.

September 24, 2026 - As Donald Trump ban on members of the media whose coverage he doesn't like continues to play out in court, Jen Psaki points out that the media model Trump seems to most want to emulate is that of the dictators he admires.

September 23, 2026 - Jen Psaki points out that the last time Donald Trump lost his cool and tried to ban a member of the news media from the White House he had just been clobbered by a blue wave midterm and his political power was at a nadir. Polling shows him to be even worse off now than he was then. Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN who successfully challenged being banned from the White House in Trump's first term, joins to discuss why Trump's bad news makes him angry at the news media.

While Donald Trump banning news organizations from the White House because he doesn't like their coverage is objectively inexcusable in the United States of America, Republicans are nonetheless trying their hardest to make excuses for Trump. Jen Psaki dismantles them with facts and context.

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.

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 capabilities of A.I. and its occasional tendency to do something it supposedly shouldn't be able to do. Ronan Farrow, investigative reporter for the New Yorker, joins to discuss. Rep. Joyce Beatty talks with Jen Psaki about her fight to defend the Kennedy Center from Donald Trump's spitefulness. Sherrod Brown joins to discuss his campaign to retake his old Senate seat for Ohio.…

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Whether because of bad advice, manipulation or foolhardiness, Donald Trump apparently thought his military adventure against Iran would be quick and easy, and now reports say he is in a frustrated rage over his own inability to escape the conflict as Americans grow increasingly bitter at the hardships Trump's folly has wrought. Admiral John Kirby, former White House national security communications advisor, joins to discuss the challenge Trump is facing.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.