The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Latest Episodes:

Psaki: Trump does not sound like he knows what A.I. is Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

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.

Senator Jon Ossoff talks with Jen Psaki about the myriad issues associated with new artificial intelligence technology and how a competent president who could understand the issue beyond how to exploit his power over it to make himself rich would be addressing the matter and using the tool of government to make sure that the interests and safety of the American public was being served.

Senator Adam Schiff joins to discuss FBI Director Kash Patel's testimony in the Senate today and the oversight Democrats hope to conduct if they can take control of the Senate after the midterm elections.

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Another Trump prosecutor quits as another conspiracy theory fails Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

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.

Barbara Starr, former CNN Pentagon correspondent, shares her reflections on the events of September 11th and its aftermath.

Donald Trump's desperation continues to grow with the release of each new poll as results show Trump and the Republican Party falling farther out of favor with the American public. But Marc Elias, one of democracy's greatest legal champions in the Trump era, believes at least one of Trump's desperation tactics, his attack on mail-in voting, will fail at the Supreme Court. Elias joins Jen Psaki to talk about why.

Antonia Hylton previews her new show and talks with Jen about visiting the Big Bend region of Texas and talking with regretful Trump voters.

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Trump makes himself a laughingstock with $5000 check pitch; even Fox News calls his bluff Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

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 looks at how JD Vance is trying to distinguish himself from Donald Trump, particularly on Iran policy, while being stuck in the role of making excuses for Trump's poorly considered ideas as he eyes the 2028 presidential race.

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Trump invents excuses for his 'Trump-a-palooza' dud Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

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 looks at Republican candidates trying to distance themselves from Donald Trump so his deep unpopularity will do the least amount of damage to their campaigns, even as Trump insists that associating with him and making himself the central focus of the midterm elections is the best strategy for the Republican Party.

Mitch Landrieu, former senior advisor to President Joe Biden, and Jim Messina, former campaign manager for Barack Obama, discuss how Republicans are struggling to distance themselves from Trump to avoid being punished by voters because of his unpopularity.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa talks with Jen Psaki about her race for governor of Texas.

Following an alarming warning raised by an Anthropic employee resigning in protest over the threat of artificial intelligence to the very survival of humanity, members of Congress are giving more serious consideration to regulating A.I. Rep. Greg Casar talks with Jen Psaki about legislation he is introducing with Senator Bernie Sanders called the Ban Superintelligence Act to make sure A.I. does not get dangerously out of control.

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GOP talking points against 'crazy' lead to immediate embarrassment Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

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.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Jen Psaki about how corruption has become a hallmark of the Trump administration, and why the only road to accountability is with a Congress controlled by Democrats.

Jen Psaki looks at new polling showing that Donald Trump's extreme upopularity is driving down the number of people who identify as Republicans and driving up the number of people who identify as Democrats. David Plouffe, former campaign manager for Barack Obama, joins to discuss what this means in terms of the midterm election and whether these numbers will be echoed in voting patterns.

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Blame for Trump's Iran disaster, Hegseth's Pentagon chaos spreads to negligent Congress Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

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 voters in Tarrant County, Texas are livid over a party-line vote to remove dozens of polling sites for this year's midterm elections. And House Democrats are focused on a newly exposed scheme to use the U.S. Postal Service to disrupt mail-in voting. Rep. Robert Garcia joins to discuss efforts by Democrats to shine a bright light on Donald Trump's mail-in ballot scheme to keep voters informed and hold U.S.P.S. officials accountable for any deviations from the law.

Troy Jackson, Maine Democratic candidate for Senate, talks with Jen Psaki about messaging in the campaign.

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Vance flounders in public spotlight trying to push Trump's Iran gaslighting Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

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. Frank Kendall, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force joins to discuss.

Jen Psaki looks at how Elon Musk's tone deafness on issues like data centers and his evident antisemitism, not to mention his image as a villain to many Americans since his disastrous implementation of DOGE at the start of Trump's second term, makes him a likely political liability for Republicans even as he hopes to help them financially. Jesse Lehrich and Rob Flaherty, co-hosts of the "Nobody Knows Anything" show, join to discuss.

Rep. Joe Neguse talks with Jen about Donald Trump's efforts to corrupt mail-in voting.

Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs list, talks with Jen Psaki about the life and legacy of Gloria Steinem.

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Hegseth's Pentagon political purge draws attention to his incompetence, Trump's dereliction Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

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.

Rahm Emanual, former Obama White House chief of staff, makes an emphatic case to Jen Psaki that the Democratic Socialists of America are their own party, separate from the Democratic Party, and should be treated as such, including for primary elections.

Priya Sridhar, MS NOW Pentagon correspondent, reports from Thailand on the USS Lincoln coming to port.

Rep. Pat Ryan talks with Jen Psaki about keeping voting secure for Americans and safe from Donald Trump.

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'Get right with God.': Tech bros panic as post-Trump accountability comes into view Aug 29, 2026

Show notes

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.

Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, talk with Jen Psaki about today's protest march and rally for voting rights in Washington, D.C.

Jen Psaki shares reporting from NOTUS that Donald Trump is working to give a potentially very valuable part of Yosemite National Park to a private developer who has some interesting ties to the Trump administration.

An exodus of employees from the FBI, either through mass firings or fleeing the disgrace of the Trump administration and Kash Patel has raised the level of desperation for new hires to such a level that personal histories, including criminal histories, that would have previously disqualified applicants are no longer an obstacle to being hired. Michael Feinberg, former assistant special agent in charge with the FBI, discusses with Jen Psaki.

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Massive scandal ROCKS Florida politics with major national implications Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

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.

Former Rep. David Jolly, Democratic candidate for Florida governor, talks with Jen about the details of the scheme.

Iowa State Rep. Josh Turek, Democratic candidate for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat, talks with Jen about a new lobbying scandal in Iowa that has involved his Republican opponent.

Max Lederer and Erik Slavin, the fired publisher and editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, talk with Jen about their new legal effort to restore their jobs and preserve the newspaper's independence as Pete Hegseth's Pentagon seems intent on turning it into a propaganda outlet.

Jen Psaki shares New York Times reporting on how Donald Trump Jr. throws his weight around as the son of a corrupt president to influence the legal circumstances of a company and an industry in which he has a financial interest. David Yaffe-Bellany, New York Times crypto industry reporter, joins to discuss his reporting.

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