The Weekend

September 7, 2025; 9am: This week, lawmakers grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr over the firing of the CDC director and his stance on vaccines. A NBC News Decision Desk poll released this morning found that an overwhelming majority supports using vaccines to prevent diseases. Dr. Jerome Adams  – who was Donald Trump's first Surgeon General – joins “The Weekend” to dis...

September 7, 2025; 8am: Federal judges are fed up with the Supreme Court for siding with Trump after lower courts have blocked parts of his sweeping agenda. SCOTUS has come to Trump’s aid on a number of cases, and now the president is asking them to overturn a ruling that found his sweeping tariffs to be illegal. MSNBC legal analyst Melissa Murray joins “The Weekend” to discuss how the Trump admin...

September 7, 2025; 7am: The protests come as as ICE began new immigration enforcement operations in Massachusetts, setting up a fight between the Trump administration and Boston. President Trump has also renewed his threats on social media to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. former Rep. Conor Lamb and former Federal Prosecutor Kristy Greenberg join The Weekend to discuss   For more, follow us...

September 6, 2025; 9am: “It’s not fair to say they’re losing credibility. We’re past that now,” is what a judge recently said about the Department of Justice’s handling of arrests during Trump's law enforcement surge in DC. The DOJ incurred a substantial amount of losses in court recently concerning deportations, tariffs, college grants, and more – though the Trump administration has already appea...

September 6, 2025; 8am: The Epstein estate is set to hand over a trove of documents to lawmakers, including the infamous “birthday book,” flight logs, phone records and financial transactions. Survivors met this week to pressure Congress to fully release the files. And if they don’t, they plan to compile their own list of names. Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil a...

September 6, 2025; 7am: In a sign that the Trump administration is planning a repeat of what happened in Los Angeles in June, fencing was put up around a federal courthouse in downtown Chicago in preparation for protests. The Pentagon has officially greenlit using a Naval base north of the city as a staging ground to launch operations. Former House Rep. Max Rose and Maya Wiley join The Weekend to...

August 31, 2025; 9am: The Epstein estate plans to hand over the convicted sex offender’s 'Birthday Book' and other documents to Congress on September 8th. The book is reportedly filled with well wishes from friends and associates, including an explicit message and drawing by President Trump, which he denies. Epstein survivors Jess Michaels and Teresa Helm, join The Weekend to discuss, as well as  ...

August 31, 2025; 8am: Donald Trump says some people might like a dictator and declares he has the right to do anything he wants. From saying he would be comfortable if both the former FBI director and CIA director were arrested to ramping up his war on Democratic-led cities, Trump has sparked concerns about authoritarianism. Executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund and former White House et...

August 31, 2025; 7am: All eyes are on Chicago after President Trump’s continued threats to deploy the National Guard to the Windy City. On Saturday, Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order demanding that Trump stand down. In response, President Trump continued his threats, warning Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to “straighten out” Chicago quickly or the city will be subjected to f...

August 30, 2025; 9am: The big shakeup could lead to a potentially competitive Senate race in Iowa. Iowa State Senator Zach Wahls is one of the Democratic candidates running to replace Ernst. He joins The Weekend to discuss what this could mean for the 2026 midterm elections. For more, follow us on social media: Bluesky: @theweekendmsnbc.bsky.social Instagram: @theweekendmsnbc TikTok: @theweekendms...

August 30, 2025; 8am: President Trump revoked former Vice President Kamala Harris' Secret Service protection -- which raises even more questions about Trump leveraging the federal government against his critics -- along with his new threats to investigate Chris Christie and George Soros.  Former CIA Director John Brennan and Liz Oyer, former DOJ Pardon Attorney and Federal Public Defender, join “T...

August 30, 2025; 7am: CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired after refusing to resign.  Her attorneys said the firing came after she refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives in line with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In response, top officials at the agency quit, and hundreds of staffers staged a clap out in support. Plus, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook has sued the...

August 24, 2025; 9am: Recent polling shows President Trump’s self-proclaimed “Big Beautiful Bill” is unpopular and many constituents are imploring Democrats to push back harder against his agenda. Several Democrats see this as an opportunity to rally through red states and remind voters who is to blame when they cast their ballots this November. Representative Maxwell Frost joins “The Weekend” to...

August 24, 2025; 8am: The Pentagon has reportedly been planning a military deployment to Chicago for weeks in a model that could later be used in other major cities. President Trump indicated that Chicago would be his next target, along with New York, another Democratic-leaning city with a Black mayor. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joins The Weekend to discuss how Trump's plan to use the National...

August 24, 2025; 7am: President Donald Trump has previously stated that his goal is retribution and the DOJ seems willing to assist. Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton was seemingly added to that list when FBI agents raided his home on Friday. Anthony Coley and Tara Setmayer join The Weekend to discuss how retribution may be the largest part of how President Trump will define suc...

August 23, 2025; 9am: After years of public pressure to release the Epstein files, the Department of Justice sent the first batch of documents to the House Oversight Committee on Friday. However, there are mixed reactions about the latest drop. While the Committee’s chair, Congressman James Comer, praised the DOJ for “moving at a pace far faster than anything ever produced by the Biden DOJ,” Repre...

August 23, 2025; 8am: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the bank could cut interest rates in September, citing rising economic risks. Meanwhile, President Trump said he'd fire a member of the Fed's board, Lisa Cook, if she did not resign.   Trump had called on Cook, the first black woman to serve on the board, to step down after federal housing regulator Bill Pulte accused her of commi...

August 23, 2025; 7am: The interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, which was conducted by President Donald Trump’s former criminal defense attorney and now top DOJ official Todd Blanche, covered topics such as Preident Trump's association with Jeffrey Epstein, whether Maxwell believed Epstein's death was caused by suicide, and if Epstein held a list of names. Miles Taylor, Paul Butler, and Kimberly Atkin...

August 17, 2025; 9am: President Trump isn’t stopping after his attempt to federally takeover Washington DC’s police. He has now singled out a number of cities as the worst in the country. Yet, they have all seen a decrease in crime, some even at historic lows. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee join The Weekend to discuss. For more, follow us on social media: Bluesky: @the...

August 17, 2025; 8am: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will have reinforcements in his high-stakes meeting with President Trump at the White House. European leaders plan to join Zelenskyy when he meets with President Trump. The announcement comes after Zelenskyy said he is skeptical about Russia's willingness to work toward peace but welcomes further conversations. It will be Zelenskyy's fi...

August 17, 2025; 7am: Saturday,  the Democratic National Committee organized hundreds of “Fight the Trump Takeover” protests in 43 states, according to the event website. Protesters took to the streets to oppose what they see as a sweeping power grab by Texas Republicans: a gerrymandering plan designed to lock in Republican control of the House of Representatives in the midterms. Protestors also t...

August 16, 2025; 9am: Attorney General Pam Bondi pulled back her order to strip authority from Washington, DC’s police chief. But that isn’t stopping President Trump, who’s continuing to exert his authority as hundreds of National Guard troops fan out across the city. Plus, the Trump administration warns more cities could be next. Former New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Washington, D.C. Shad...

August 16, 2025; 8am: Late on Friday, California Democrats released proposed maps that would likely flip five Republican-held seats, giving Democrats 48 of the state’s 52 districts, up from 43. It's a direct counter to Republican gains that Texas Republicans are proposing. State lawmakers will vote on the plan next week.  Additionally, Texas Democrats plan to return home after leaving the state in...

August 16, 2025; 7am: On Friday, President Trump hosted President Putin in Alaska to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine with the hopes of brokering a peace deal. However, the nearly three-hour meeting ended without a ceasefire or peace agreement. Now, just hours after the summit, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced his plans to travel to Washington on Monday. Richard Haass and Celeste Wallande...

August 10, 2025; 9am: Texas Republicans have unleashed a wave of legal action aimed at forcing Texas Democrats to return to the Lone Star State. A recent lawsuit accused Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke of bribing lawmakers to break quorum by raising money for their travel expenses and legal defense. A district judge temporarily sided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, blocking O'Rourke from...