The Briefing with Jen Psaki

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Trump's only campaign idea is a bad one: promoting himself Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki talks with David Plouffe, Barack Obama's 2008 campaign manager, about the balance of the congressional elections just a few months away from midterm elections, and the challenge Republicans face carrying the burden of Donald Trump's unpopularity when Trump's only campaign idea is to promote himself.

Taken separately, Donald Trump's bad policies are problematic enough, his petulant tariffs, his foolhardy trade wars, his inexplicable war in Iran, his assault on immigrants, etc. But taken together they are a crippling burden hurting both supply and demand as well as resources and materials for operating farms and businesses. Jen Psaki discusses with Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democratic candidate for governor of Minnesota.

Senator Mark Kelly joins to discuss the crisis Pete Hegseth has created in the American military.

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Trump Senate pick makes 'empty vessel' a viable political identity Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki relays breaking news that Darline Graham, sister of former Senator Lindsey Graham, is projected to win the South Carolina Republican primary for Seante, overcoming some embarrassing gaffes and apparently benefitting from a strong endorsement from Donald Trump.

Tim Miller, host of the Bulwark podcast, and Jim Messina, former Obama campaign manager, talk about the stakes of the South Carolina Senate race, Trump's extraordinary effort to see his candidate to victory and whether Darline Graham is damaged enough as a candidate to be vulnerable to the very compelling Democratic candidate Annie Andrews.

Jen Psaki talks with former Governor Roy Cooper, Democratic candidate for Senate from North Carolina about the contradiction in Donald Trump paying lip service to affordability while at the same time starting a trade war with Canada that will be a further burden on American consumers.

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Hegseth's Pentagon goes to war against independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes Aug 22, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki reports on the firing by Pete Hegseth's Pentagon of the editor-in-chief of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper, as well as one of its reporters, and considers the broader context of the Trump administration's attacks on the free press and Hegseth's particular battle against independent media. Erik Slavin, now former editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, and Lara Korte, former Middle East reporter for Stars and Stripes join to discuss with Jen Psaki.

A report from the Center for American Progress shows that despite costing a huge amount of money and making huge human resource demands, Donald Trump's National Guard deployment to U.S. citites like Washington, D.C. has not done what Trump promised. Neera Tanden, president and C.E.O. of the Center for American Progress talks with Jen Psaki about the the evidence that Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard to fight crime in U.S. cities has been a giant waste of taxpayer money that has not reduced the rate of violent crime in those cities.

Rob Flaherty and Jesse Lehrich , co-hosts of the "Nobody Knows Anything” show, discuss the week's news in politics with Jen Psaki.

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Psaki: Trump administration's 'adult babysitters' are not normal Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki takes a closer look at the bizarre devotion Natalie Harp shows to Donald Trump and her reported behavior that is not at all normal for a presidential aide. And the similarly abnormal role of Jennifer Hegseth, Pete Hegseth's wife, former Fox News producer and awkward shadow in the Trump administration.

Chris Meagher, former chief Pentagon spokesman, and Ned Price, former CIA spokesman, talk with Jen Psaki about the glaring security problems with Donald Trump's aide, Natalie Harp, and Pete Hegseth taking his wife to work with him, and how the relationships undermine the trust of our allies and hurt U.S. national security.

Abdul El-Sayed joins Jen to talk about his Senate race in Michigan and trying to get his Republican opponent to agree to a debate.

Brandon Dukes, a Democrat who won a special election in Pennsylvania county that Donald Trump won by 18 points, talks with Jen about the keys to his successful campaign.

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Distracted Trump gives Republicans a real estate agent when they need a leader Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki looks at the terrible performance of some of the candidates endorsed by Donald Trump, and the lack of help struggling Republicans candidates are getting from Trump, who may be too unpopular to help them even if he was inclined to do so.

Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for The New York Times and co-author of "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump," and Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America, join to discuss Donald Trump's waning influence in the Republican Party and his fixation on vanity projects instead of midterm elections, as well as new MS NOW reporting on questions about Trump aide Natalie Harp's security clearance.

Jen Psaki shares highlights from a weird, newly released reality-style show from Donald Trump's transportation secretary, former reality show performer and Fox host, Sean Duffy, featuring Duffy's family and products from the corporations that paid for the production.

Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost discusses his objections to a new crypto bill supported by Donald Trump.

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Trump-era GOP produces weak field of candidates as multiple Trump endorsees flop in Florida Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki looks at the collection of shameless and scandal-plagued MAGA candidates running in Florida Republican primary races that leave Trump-era Republican voters wanting for good choices.

Democratic pollster Fernand Amandi and former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina talk with Jen Psaki about why the surprising results of the Florida primary elections point to strong Democratic momentum and a real opportunity for Florida Democratic candidates for the first time in over a decade. Newly nominated Democratic candidate for Senate, Angie Nixon, joins to discuss the key to her "stunning" success despite significantly smaller fundraising and a lower national profile compared to the opponent she defeated.

Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, joins to discuss ABC suing the Trump admnistration for its attempt to intimidate the network with threats.

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Psaki: Why it's believable that Trump doesn't actually want to be president Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki considers Senator Jon Ossoff's charge that Donald Trump doesn't actually want to be president and would rather spend time with his sycophantic aides flying around on his fancy Qatari airplane, and posits that Trump's interest in only the most superficial aspects of the presidency makes his administration more akin to movie production than government.

Senator Jon Ossoff talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to use his position at the top of the U.S. government to enrich himself and his family, and how the outrage over that open corruption is feeding Democratic enthusiasm for the coming midterm elections.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes joins to talk about defending Arizona elections from Donald Trump's interference.

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Trump's cartoonish devotion to gold backfires in ballroom argument Aug 15, 2026

Show notes

Donald Trump is trying to get around restrictions on the construction of his White House ballroom by arguing that the facility is a military necessity. But as Jen Psaki points out, it's hard to argue the national security purpose of covering everything in gold.

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump's incompetence and mismanagement of his war on Iran has not only wasted physical military resources but has been injurious to service members as well, to the point where family members are having to speak out publicly even as Trump and his sycophants continue to deny there's a problem.

Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor, joins to discuss Trump's disastrous handling of his war against Iran.

Life in the Trump era keeps getting easier for criminal fraudsters. Former Rep. Tom Malinowski talks with Jen Psaki about how Donald Trump is steadily dismantling the tools for catching and prosecuting criminals, and why the news that Trump's Treasury Department will stop enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act is good news for money launderers and drug dealers.

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Psaki calls out Karoline Leavitt for failing to serve the American people as Trump's press secretary Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Jen Psaki criticizes the priorities of outgoing Donald Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt for avoiding good faith engagement with real reporters' questions while elevating Trump sycophants.

Senator Mark Kelly talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump making extreme and expensive demands for changes to aircraft carriers without having any idea what he's actually talking about.

Jen Psaki shares reporting from the New York Times about hundreds of millions of dollars worth of planes purchased by the Department of Homeland Security that are sitting idle because DHS lacked the foresight to realize the cost of maintaining a fleet of airplanes. John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE, joins to discuss.

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‘Unconscionable’: Trump uses press and his own staff as decoys amid Iran threat Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby joins MS NOW’s Jen Psaki to discuss Donald Trump’s claims that the United States has “complete control” over the Strait of Hormuz and new reporting for The Washington Post that the CIA questioned the credibility of Israeli intelligence about an Iranian threat to Trump that ultimately led to Trump’s secret flight out of Turkey last month.

MS NOW’s Jen Psaki talks to MS NOW Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Vin Gupta about the dangers of Donald Trump’s executive order rolling back federal childhood vaccine recommendations.

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