The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki looks at catastrophic polling data about how Americans feel about Donald Trump and his handling of issues like the economy and his war with Iran Jen also shares interviews from MS NOW reporter Alex Tabet with frustrated Trump voters who turning away from Trump.

"They thought he was going to lower costs. They thought he was going to end the wars. They thought he was going to drain the swamp. They thought he was going to release the Epstein files. And now they're feeling pretty disillusioned." Democratic candidate for Senate from Texas, James Talarico, talks with Jen Psaki about how Donald Trump's broken promises and the hardships imposed by Trump's economy are giving his campaign the opportunity to connect with previously inaccessible voters and have a real shot at flipping that Senate seat in November.

Norm Eisen, executive director of Democracy Defenders Fund, talks with Jen about the illegality of Donald Trump's self-indulgent use of federal resources, including the White House, for his personal aggrandizement and birthday celebration.

John Brennan, former director of the CIA, joins to discuss Jay Clayton, Donald Trump's new DNI nominee, and the perils of Bill Pulte serving in the acting-DNI role for even a short period of time.

To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A new report from the New York Times exposes the frantic response from Donald Trump's White House to protect Trump from fallout from the revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files and his association with the notorious sex predator. Rep. Robert Garcia talks with Jen Psaki about what the report's revelations mean for the ongoing congressional investigation.

In addition to bizarrely declaring his love for inflation, Donald Trump also announced that the U.S. is taking Iranian oil. Rep. Emilia Sykes took advantage of the fact that Trump's energy secretary, Chris Wright, was testifying before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and pressed Wright to address Trump's statements, leaving the secretary at a loss. 

Democratic candidate for Senate from Maine, Graham Platner talks with Jen Psaki about leaving the past behind and the road ahead to the general election.

To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for Senate from Maine, addresses his supporters in declaring victory in the Democratic primary, thanking them for his support, laying out his vision for the issues he hopes to champion on their behalf in Washington, D.C., and presenting a blistering criticism of Senator Susan Collins, his Republican opponent in the general election.

Ali Velshi, MS NOW chief data reporter, breaks down primary election returns as they are reported.

MS NOW's Alex Tabet shares his reporting on how Maine voters view the Senate primary race.

And Jim Messina, former campaign manager for Barack Obama, and Alex Seitz-Wald, deputy editor of the Midcoast Villager, talk with Jen Psaki about the stakes of the 2026 election and what voters are showing their priorities are.

To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A report from the non-profit watchdog group Public Citizen points out that while Donald Trump insists that donations are paying for his vanity project ballroom, those donors are being granted federal contracts totaling more than $50 billion.

Ruth Ben Ghiat, author of "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,” and Timothy L. O'Brien, senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion, discuss Donald Trump's corruption and how his behavior is typical of authoritarians, from trying to put his name and face on everything to going to war against the free press.

The discovery of the screwworm parasite in cattle in Texas has raised alarm about the struggling U.S. cattle industry and the already high price of beef for American consumers. Ali Velshi explains the careful government precautions necessary to protect American livestock from the damaging screwworm, and how Donald Trump threw those precautions out the window. 

Rebecca Cooke, Democratic candidate for Congress from Wisconsin, talks with Ali Velshi about the hardships farmers have endured as a result of Donald Trump's policies and why his words on a visit with Wisconsin farmers rang hollow to anyone actually experiencing the fallout from Trump's tariffs, high fuel prices, cuts to local services and more.

To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While Democratic candidate for Senate, Graham Platner, has incorporated a story of personal redemption as part of his campaign persona, new details are illustrating just how dark the life was from which he was redeemed. Chris Hayes follows his interview with Platner with a discussion of how compromising the latest revelations are for Platner's candidacy. 

Donald Trump is ready to appoint his own criminal defense attorney as Attorney General, and let slip that he wants the DOJ investigating his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. Senator Alex Padilla joins to discuss.

Former CIA director John Brennan discusses what's at stake with Donald Trump's choice of a sycophant with no intelligence experience to be the new director of national intelligence, and why someone who found a way to weaponize mortgage data against people Donald Trump doesn't like is a dangerous person to give access to America's intelligence products.

Donald Trump already had little room to spare in commanding the loyalty of the House majority, but as his popularity continues to sag and legislators become increasingly aware of the upcoming election and how upset their constituents are, more Republicans are willing to step out of line, including on Iran war power, Ukraine aid, and more sanctions against Russia (which Trump objects to for some reason). Rep. Gregory Meeks joins to discuss.

 

To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.