The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Donald Trump has trained his acolytes in politics and media to echo his reassuring buzz phrases about weathering the short term effects of his war on Iran on the energy markets and global economy, but catchy slogans aren't changing the facts of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the sudden energy crisis that everyone in the world can see happening in front of their own eyes. James Talarico...

As Donald Trump continues to offer contradictory answers and explanations, his war on Iran is running into some foreseeable problems that were among the reasons attacking Iran was ill-advised in the first place. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor, and Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talk with Jen Psaki about the deadly, expensive mess Donald Trump and his defense...

Jen Psaki points out the weird and wild inconsistencies in the messaging and explanations from the Trump administration about the war of choice Donald Trump started with Iran, why they did it, what they call it, what they're trying to accomplish and how they're going to keep the world economy from crashing while they do it. Jen Psaki pins down the various excuses and evasions from the Trump admini...

Jen Psaki looks at Donald Trump's oddly casual answers to questions about the hardships his war on Iran is imposing on Americans, as well as Defense secretary Pete Hegseth's embarrassing chest pounding and the juvenile propaganda being released on government social media accounts, and questions whether Trump understands or is even capable of being a wartime president. Barbara Starr, former CNN Pen...

Now-former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem managed to keep her job despite a constant stream of scandals and outrages, but as soon as she suggested that Donald Trump, as president of the United States, and therefore her boss, knew about the corruption highlighted in Congressional hearings, that was too much for Trump to tolerate. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz talks with Jen Psaki about all of the reasons...

Jen Psaki shares a dizzying collection of contradictions and nonsense from the Trump administration and its allies trying to explain the reason for attacking Iran, the goals of doing so, or even whether it's ok to call it a war. Senator Mark Kelly joins to discuss the incompetence of the Trump administration's handling of Iran and other national security issues compromised by Trump's poor choices....

Rachel Maddow and her MS NOW colleagues track the primary election returns in Texas and North Carolina, with Ali Velshi offering special statistical insights from the big board as one of the most closely watched elections, the Democratic Senate primary between Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico mired in legal complications after polling place confusion in Dallas.   The panel and special guests of...

Ali Velshi reviews the dubious dealings and questionable relationships of Donald Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, not the least of which is his association with Jeffrey Epstein, which he was caught lying about. Just as depositions given by Hillary and Bill Clinton to the House Oversight Committee on the matter of Jeffrey Epstein have raised questions about why Donald Trump or Howard Lut...

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee apparently thought that calling Hillary Clinton to testify about Jeffrey Epstein would score them some political points with their base. Instead they looked like fools, wasting everyone's time and only managed to learn that Clinton was possibly the least useful witness they could have called. Rep. James Walkinshaw and Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who serve on...

California Governor Gavin Newsom talks with Jen Psaki in an extended interview about the damage Donald Trump has done to democracy in the United States, the threat of his potential successors like JD Vance and Marco Rubio, fighting with the right-wing media machine and what American voters are looking for in a president. Jen Psaki points out that in Donald Trump's first term, Cabinet members who w...

Listen to MS NOW’s Special Coverage of President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address. During his speech, Trump touted the ending of DEI policies nationwide, railed against the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling, and attacked the Somali community of Minnesota. Hear Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes, and more react to Trump’s remarks, along with the Democratic response from Virginia Governo...

Jen Psaki points to examples of Donald Trump manipulating tariffs against other countries for reasons that have nothing to do with economics and everything to do with his own personal enrichment or petty grievances. And while Trump abuses his power in order to serve himself, American taxpayers foot the bill by paying for the consequences of Trump's tariffs. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker discusses...

Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, react to the news of the arrest of former Prince Andrew. Virginia Roberts Giuffre's photo with Andrew, the man she accused of participating in her abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, became one of the most recognizable pieces of evidence in her advocacy for justice for her fellow survivors of Epstein's abuse. Rep. Ro...

The Trump administration is rolling out a strategy to send Cabinet members to electorally competitive districts ahead of next year's midterms. Jen Psaki considers the political damage this strategy will cause for Republicans as everyone in Trump's Cabinet is somewhere on the scale from weird and tone deaf to personally repellant. Maryland Governor Wes Moore talks with Jen Psaki about dealing with...

Rep. Jasmine Crockett talks with Jen Psaki about the Texas Senate race and the phone call she received from Paramount in connection to the confrontation between Stephen Colbert and CBS over Colbert's interview with Crockett's Senate race rival James Talarico. Rep. Crockett is also about to hear testimony from a Les Wexler, a close associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Terry Moran, former senior national c...

Jen Psaki rounds up a remarkable list of failures and bad news suffered by Donald Trump's secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, and shares highlights of eye-popping new reporting from the Wall Street Journal about how Noem has led her department into chaos with tyrannical behavior, wasted money, rumors of infidelity, and bizarre drama over a lost blanket that resulted in the firing and re-h...

For more than a week since the initial report from the Wall Street Journal, information about an intelligence community whistleblower report and the accusation that Tulsi Gabbard did not handle the report properly has been slowly leaking to the public. Now it has emerged that Jared Kushner is the subject at the center of the report. Andrew Bakaj, chief legal counsel for Whistleblower Aid, and the...

Jen Psaki shares highlights from the most bizarre and obnoxious testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, or any committee, in recent memory in which Pam Bondi blurted and shouted like a deranged A.I. bot in a desperate effort to avoid addressing her department's Epstein scandal.   Rep. Jamie Raskin discusses the effort to get transparency and accountability with the Epstein files. Donald Tr...

Jen Psaki looks at how the Epstein scandal is an actual scandal in places still capable of shame and disgrace, while in the United States, association with notorious pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has no real consequences. Rep. Ro Khanna, however, intends to change that, and today named six men who he says were being hidden by the Department of Justice behind unnecessary redactions....

The panicked response by Donald Trump and his White House support staff to the backlash against his racist social media post suggest Trump miscalculated how much racism the American people are willing to tolerate, which may be a reflection of the bubble in which he lives. Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, and Eddie Glaude, a professor at Princeton University,...

Jen Psaki rounds up the myriad conspiracy theories and random ideas that Donald Trump has his White House staff chasing down in a desperate effort to make himself feel better about his loss to Joe Biden in 2020, and to justify taking control of the election process going forward under the guise of keeping elections honest. Senator Mark Warner joins to discuss how far out of bounds the Trump admini...

Jen Psaki looks at Donald Trump's poll numbers sinking to deeper depths as Trump grows more vocal about his intention to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections, and doubles down on his goal of making sure his own narrative is the only one people hear by cutting off access to reliable information about his administration. "Donald Trump, that's what happened, really." Marty Baron, former execut...

Jen Psaki shows how an onslaught of bad news and bad polls for Donald Trump is making him more desperate to control voting and the outcomes of elections in the U.S., and he is actively taking steps to do so while his staff struggle to find alternative explanations for what is going on. Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, joins to discuss Donald Trump's growing threat to free and fair election...

Abbe Lowell, attorney for journalist Don Lemon, talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's escalating war on the news media, and the pattern he sees among his clients who have been targeted by Donald Trump's Justice Department, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Rep. Robert Garcia talks about the Justice Department's release of a new batch of J...

Senator Warner talks with Jen Psaki about the threat Donald Trump poses to free and fair elections in the United States. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses the legal fight to liberate the state of Minnesota from the paramilitary occupation of ICE agents terrorizing communities in Minneapolis. Rep. Joaquin Castro visited the immigration prison in Dilley, Texas and met with 5-year-ol...