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.
Democratic candidate for Senate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, fresh from his debate with Mike Rogers, talks with Jen Psaki about how little Republicans have to run on when they are complicit and compliant with Donald Trump's failures and unpopular policies.
Senator Jon Ossoff, having also just finished a debate, talks with Jen Psaki about the character of his opponent, Mike Collins, and the urgent stakes of this year's midterm elections.



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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.
Jen Psaki shares reporting from the New York Times that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, two key members of Donald Trump's poltiical machine, took some time away in the middle of the midterm crunch to offer their political insights to the far right government of Russia-aligned Republika Srpska. Republican Senator Thom Tillis offers his insights on the news.
Donald Trump learned first-hand why Republican candidates are having such a hard time in Texas when his rally was repeatedly interrupted by protesters. Johnny Garcia, Democratic candidate for Congress from Texas, talks with Jen Psaki about the political shift that has taken place in Texas and why Trump's scheme to win more seats by gerrymandering Texas does not appear to be playing out as Trump hoped.
Michael Lewis, author of the newly published "Blockers," talks with Jen about the people who tried to resist the DOGE destruction of the federal government.

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October 6, 2026 - Jen Psaski interviews Troy Jackson, Democratic candidate for Senate from Maine, fresh from his debate with his Republican opponent, Susan Collins, about the tight race, the political mood in Maine, and the liability Donald Trump has become for Republican candidates.
Jen Psaki talks with Jim Messina, campaign manager for Barack Obama 2012, Shawna Thomas, MS NOW political director, and Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, about whether the ProPublica report about Senator Susan Collins being caught up in a pay-to-play scheme is hurting her campaign for reelection, particularly in an atmosphere of pervasive Trump corruption.

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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.
Former Senator Doug Jones talks with Jen about Donald Trump preaching to the choir campaign tour.
Jen Psaki considers Donald Trump accusation that news organizations are spreading misinformation about national security and takes a closer look at the information Trump is spreading, including an odd claim that Iran had drug factories in their nuclear factories when U.S. bombs blew them up. The White House was not helpful in shedding further light on Trump's claim.
Free speech attorney Ted Boutrous talks with Jen about progress in the lawsuit brought by news organizations against the Trump administration over the banning of members of the news media from the White House.
Fallon Gallagher, MS NOW legal affairs reporter, talks with Jen about breaking news of a new filing in the White House press ban case.
Jen Psaki relays new reporting in The Atlantic about the lengths to which FBI Director Kash Patel will go to win Donald Trump's favor even if it means neglecting the FBI's national security responsibilities or interfering in the midterm elections.


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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.
Rep. Jamie Raskin joins to discuss the myriad ways the Trump administration operates outside of ethical and even legal bounds, and the investigations Democrats are likely to open if they win control of the House.
Jen Psaki shares highlights from a new interview Donald Trump gave to Time magazine that shows someone woefully out of touch, misguided on the facts, and tone deaf about his political situation.

Jim Acosta, former White House correspondent for CNN, joins to discuss Donald Trump's resentment of a news media that won't adore him.

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