The Briefing with Jen Psaki - podcast cover

The Briefing with Jen Psaki

MSNBC
Jen Psaki tackles the biggest issues of the week and features one-on-one interviews with newsmakers.

Episodes

The protests were practice: Americans are prepared for Supreme Court's obstacles to opposing Trump

Jen Psaki looks at how we arrived at today's Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions, from Donald Trump's unpopular policies, frequently unlawful executive orders, and Republican lemming Congress, to the state attorneys general defending rights and the rule of law, and the millions of Americans who have been organizing against Trump. That organizing is going to be useful as the Supreme Court has left the door open on using class action lawsuits to oppose Trump's orders.

Jun 28, 202541 minEp. 250627

Trump's Iran lies begin to crumble into an embarrassing mess

Jen Psaki reports on the evolving explanations and contradictory statements from the Trump administration about the U.S. bombing of Iran, and new reports that Iran's nuclear program is not, in fact, "obliterated," as public polling already shows that Trump's decision to bomb Iran is mostly unpopular with Americans.

Jun 25, 202542 minEp. 250624

Psaki calls out media that fell for Trump's 'two week' trick

Jen Psaki points out the mistake some media outlets made in relaying Donald Trump's two-week deadline to make a decision on U.S. action on Iran, without also pointing out that Trump often promises to do things in two weeks, and seldom actually follows through.

Jun 20, 202541 minEp. 250619

Trump's lack of foreign policy principles tears MAGA apart on Iran

Jen Psaki looks at the various influences manipulating Donald Trump as he makes decisions on the war between Israel and Iran without having any personal principles mooring his thinking, and how his lack of leadership is leaving his supporters to fight with each other.

Jun 19, 202542 minEp. 250618

Trump and allies are eager to distort protests in L.A.

Donald Trump needs the protests in L.A. to be violent and chaotic so he can justify the power grab he desperately wants. His allies in Congress and right-wing media are only too happy to oblige by encouraging his exaggerations and distortions. Jen Psaki takes a closer look at how the protests in L.A. are being mischaracterized as Trump edges toward invoking the Insurrection Act.

Jun 11, 202545 minEp. 250610

Musk inadvertently gives away the game in spat with Trump

In the midst of Donald Trump and Elon Musk throwing insults and threats at each other on their respective social media platforms, Musk accused Donald Trump of being ungrateful to Musk for purchasing the election for him, an admission of sorts that his support for Trump was transactional. Jen Psaki takes a closer look.

Jun 06, 202542 minEp. 250605

Trump's 'best people' are not doing very well; bad time to cut career public servants

Jen Psaki looks at a startling number of Trump Cabinet members whose lack of fitness for the jobs they serve is glaringly apparent, all while career public servants who make the government work regardless of the competence of the people in charge are struggling to adjust to crippling DOGE cuts and burdensome new red tape.

Jun 04, 202542 minEp. 250603

Musk tenure ends awkwardly with report of drug use

After ranting endlessly about Hunter Biden's drug use and addition issues, Donald Trump and his cohort were oddly quiet about a New York Times report on Elon Musk abusing of drugs.

May 31, 202541 minEp. 250530

Trumpworld shocked: Governing is hard!

Donald Trump and his cast of supporting characters are learning the hard way that actually governing is much more difficult than shooting hot takes from the hip and spinning up conspiracy theories about how the world works. Jen Psaki reviews the struggle Trumpworld is having with real world governing.

May 30, 202542 minEp. 250529

Federal trade court blocks Trump's sweeping tariffs; says they exceed his authority

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump lacks the authority to enact his sweeping tariffs under the emergency powers law. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes who co-led the lawsuit against Trump's tariffs discusses the ruling and next steps with Jen Psaki.

May 29, 202541 minEp. 250528

Trump cashes in on crypto side-hustle as rich-get-richer budget comes into focus

Jen Psaki reports on how Donald Trump still used the trappings of the presidency during his "personal time" at a dinner for big-money purchasers of his cryptocurrency, and shares dramatic new visuals of how much the new Republican budget bill benefits wealthy Americans over the poor.

May 24, 20251 hr 23 minEp. 250523

Backlash: Republicans head home to face constituent wrath over rich-get-richer budget bill

The Republican budget bill still has a lot of time and processing to undergo before it heads to Donald Trump's desk for his signature. And now Republicans face their worst fear and biggest obstacle, their own constituents, who are quickly finding out what their elected representatives have voted for and aren't going to be happy about it. Jen Psaki shows that there is still time for American voters to make themselves heard in the budget process.

May 23, 202541 minEp. 250522

Failed idea features prominently in Republican bill despite red state regret

Georgia and Arkansas have both tried to implement work requirements for Medicaid, with both producing disastrous results. Now Republicans in Congress want to impose those work requirements on a national level and seem oblivious to the idea's previous failure and the regret expressed by fellow Republicans for their role in it.

May 22, 202541 minEp. 250521

'I did not waver': Rep. McIver speaks out on federal charges after ICE center confrontation

Rep. LaMonica McIver talks with Jen Psaki about what really happened at the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, where she and other members of Congress arrived for an inspection and were met with a confrontation that resulted in federal charges against McIver and a corresponding false narrative being spun up by the Trump administration.

May 21, 202541 minEp. 250520

Trump's power grab scheme exposed; Supreme Court birthright citizenship case focuses on court powers

The focus on nationwide injunctions in the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court shows that what is at stake is less about whether people born in the U.S. are citizens and more about whether a circuit court can put a hold on a new rule for the entire country, or whether Donald Trump can assert his will in different regions of the U.S. if he finds friendly judges willing to indulge him, even if he is blocked in other parts of the country. Jen Psaki reports.

May 16, 202542 minEp. 250515

Polls show Americans aren't buying Trump team's ignorance ploy

Jen Psaki shares examples of Republicans, from Donald Trump to House Speaker Mike Johnson to members of Trump's Cabinet avoiding questions and claiming not to be familiar with major national news stories and other data directly related to their areas of responsibility. And while the ignorance tactic may help them avoid answering questions, new polls show Americans already understand what's really going on.

May 15, 202542 minEp. 250514
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