The Briefing with Jen Psaki - podcast cover

The Briefing with Jen Psaki

MS NOW, Jen Psakiwww.ms.now
Jen Psaki tackles the biggest issues of the week and features one-on-one interviews with newsmakers.
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Episodes

Bigger than Kimmel: Psaki shows what's really behind the comedian's suspension

With Donald Trump saying the quiet part out loud about who should be allowed to speak in the United States, Jen Psaki follows the money through the corporate powers that are helping the Trump regime reshape American media in order to protect their financial interests. Meanwhile, Congressoinal Democrats intend to investigate potential conflicts of interest by media conglomerates looking to appease Donald Trump for business reasons. Stacey Abrams joins to dicuss what people can do to push back on ...

Sep 19, 202541 minEp. 202509189

Pritzker on bowing to Trump intimidation: The consequences of not standing up are worse

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker reacts to breaking news that Disney's ABC television network has capitulated to strong-arming by the Trump administration to remove Jimmy Kimmel from the air, and encourages Americans to not only push back on Disney, but to remain steadfast in standing up to Donald Trump's intimidation tactics. Former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara weighs in on the legal perspective, and Rep. Dan Goldman joins to discuss Donald Trump's power overreach. Jen Psaki reports on a Senat...

Sep 18, 202543 minEp. 202509179

Gov. Walz TRASHES Trump on shootings, national guard, economy

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz talks with Jen Psaki on the day that he had declared his candidacy for reelection. Walz offers harsh words on Donald Trump for his response to shootings in Minnesota, including the fatal shooting of Democratic politician Melissa Hortman, as well as the deployment of the National Guard to American cities, and Trump's handling of the economic challenges Americans are facing. Jen Psaki reports on FBI Director Kash Patel's credulity-straining Senate testimony today and sh...

Sep 17, 202541 minEp. 202509169

Psaki: National crises of political violence call for unifying leadership

Jen Psaki looks back at past examples of political violence in the United States and how political leaders addressed the country with calls for unity and cooler heads, with examples from John Boehner to Utah Governor Spender Cox, who spoke this morning at a press conference announcing that the suspect in the shooting of Charlie Kirk is in custody. Senator Tina Smith discusses the dire state of politics in the U.S. While the suspect in the Kirk shooting is in custody, Kash Patel's poor performanc...

Sep 13, 202542 minEp. 202509129

With reward and images, authorities engage public in hunt for Kirk shooter

As the manhunt continues for the person who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Alicia Menendez talks with Vaughn Hillyard, MSNBC senior White House correspondent, Ken Dilanian, MSNBC justice and intelligence correspondent, and Marc Santia, MSNBC investigative correspondent, about progress in the investigation so far. Senator Amy Klobuchar talks with Alicia Menendez about how the increase in political violence and threats toward political figures has legislators not only looking ...

Sep 12, 202551 minEp. 202509119

Ability to 'tap in' to the youth: Charlie Kirk’s rise in conservative politics

Senior White House Correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, who has covered Charlie Kirk's ascent in conservative politics, joins Jen Psaki to provide insight into Charlie Kirk’s rise and influence within the MAGA ranks and young conservatives. 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 https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sep 11, 202542 minEp. 202509109

Trump's lies become more OUTLANDISH as he contorts reality to suit himself

Donald Trump and his Republican acolytes defy credulity with their bizarre denial that Trump's page in Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book is somehow a 22-year-old forgery, but as Jen Psaki points out, that isn't the only unbelievable story Trump is trying to push to escape a reality that makes him look really bad. In the latest edition of "Jen's Version," Jen Psaki addresses questions asked at the White House press briefing, including what Donald Trump meant by "if a man has a little fight with the...

Sep 10, 202541 minEp. 202509099

Pritzker readies residents for a CHICAGO SHOWDOWN as Trump amasses troops

In an exclusive, extended interview, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's threat to blitz Chicago with ICE agents, supported by the deployment of National Guard troops. Pritzker discusses what tools he has to push back, what Chicago residents can do, and what else he thinks Donald Trump has in mind while he normalizes military on the streets of U.S. cities. Rep. Jamie Raskin alerts viewers that the House Judiciary Committee will be releasing an "explosive" repo...

Sep 06, 202542 minEp. 202509059

Lie after lie, Senate committee dismantles RFK Jr., often using his own words against him

The Senate Finance Committee was not gentle with Donald Trump's HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., grilling him on his perspectives on vaccines and often catching him in contradictions. Jen Psaki shares highlights of some of Kennedy's more frustrating lies, and the efforts of senators to call him out. As Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, levels accusations of mortgage fraud against Donald Trump's political enemies, a new report from ProPublica shows that three member...

Sep 05, 202541 minEp. 202509049

Family of Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre speaks out

The role of Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre in demanding accountability for Epstein and his accomplices, and keeping the case in the spotlight even as powerful forces attempted to make the case disappear, cannot be overstated. Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, talk with Jen Psaki about the challenges Giuffre faced, and her legacy as other survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are speaking out and demanding the release of the fil...

Sep 04, 202542 minEp. 202509039

Trump offers oddly meandering answer to rumors of his death

Jen Psaki shares Donald Trump's seemingly self-contradicting answer to a question about internet rumors that he had been out of the public eye for several days because he had died. But Trump has plenty of other reasons to want to hide from the American public. Jen Psaki shows how Donald Trump's unpopular and illegal agenda is suffering one legal loss after another in court challenges, and talks with Norm Eisen, executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund, and Skye Perryman, president and CEO...

Sep 03, 202541 minEp. 202509029

Trump faceplants in court on tariff power grab; burned again for overreach

Ian Bassin, co-founder and executive director of Protect Democracy, and former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg, talk with Jen Psaki about a federal appeals court finding that Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal, and other legal problems the administration is having with overreach, like Jeanine Pirro humiliating herself with her failure to match an indictment to her tough talk on the sandwich-throwing activist. Donald Trump has made clear his intention to dismantle FEMA and shift responsibilit...

Aug 30, 20251 hr 23 minEp. 202508299

The CDC is being 'transformed into a weapon': Top doctor exits CDC with a warning

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned in protest from his position as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, talks with Jen Psaki about the valuable work being done by the people at the CDC, and how the Trump administration, through HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is corrupting the CDC with unscientific attitudes and agendas. Jen's Version: Jen Psaki answers questions posed in today's White House press briefing, without the Trump administration's spin, and...

Aug 29, 202541 minEp. 202508289

Psaki: Action on America's gun problem is not hopeless

Jen Psaki addresses the horrific shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis and the shocking gun statistics in the United States that "should make everyone angry." Psaki points to new gun legislation that passed under the Biden administration after a mass shooting at a supermarket, and reminds viewers that anger can turn into activism, activism can turn into pressure, and pressure can change laws. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey talks with Jen Psaki about the horrific shooting at Annunciation Cat...

Aug 28, 202541 minEp. 202508279

Psaki: Bizarre Trump Cabinet suck-up meeting feeds his misguided interest in dictatorship

Jen Psaki shares samples of the gross, sycophantic fawning of Donald Trump's Cabinet members at a group meeting that leaves little wonder why Trump thinks "a lot of people say" he should be a dictator. His own Cabinet already treats him like one. Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump's director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who is using his access to federal housing data to accuse Trump's political enemies of mortgage fraud, perhaps ignoring the irony that Trump is a notorious fraudster, or...

Aug 27, 202541 minEp. 202508269

Democrats in BATTLE MODE as Trump exploits servile Republicans

With Texas poised to pass a redistricting bill to help Donald Trump rig the midterm elections in his favor to retain control of Congress, Democrats are taking the fight to Trump. Trump's renewed engagement with Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine has made a new priority of the return of Ukrainian children stolen by Putin. 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 infor...

Aug 21, 202541 minEp. 202508209

Trump team's bungling makes his bad ideas worse

Despite his deep delusions to the contrary, Donald Trump turning Washington, D.C. into a police state is making life and business in the District worse, thanks in large part to the team of bad faith bunglers Trump has assembled to carry out his will. While Trump's acolytes appear eager to help him weaponize the DOJ and law enforcement against his political enemies, their incompetence mostly yields embarrassment. The best possibility for a consistent ceasefire in Ukraine is if a coalition of outs...

Aug 20, 202542 minEp. 202508199

Trump-Putin summit special coverage; Part 2

Expectations for the outcome of Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin were low, but few people anticipated that in addition to producing no agreement, the meeting would be followed by a low-energy 12 minute press presentation with no details given and no questions taken. 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 an...

Aug 16, 202542 minEp. 202508159

Trump-Putin summit special coverage; Part 1

Despite efforts to lower expectations for his big meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump still managed to underperform with nothing to show for the meeting, which was followed by a "press conference" with no details and no questions taken. Jen Psaki is joined by her MSNBC colleague Nicolle Wallace, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, and former deputy national security advisor, Ben Rhodes discuss what happened and what it all means. To listen to this show and o...

Aug 16, 202543 minEp. 202508158

FIRE WITH FIRE: Newsom sets plan to counter Trump's gerrymander scheme

Donald Trump's use of federal forces to crack down on residents of Washington, D.C. is not well received. Neither is the crackdown by federal immigration authorities on immigrant school children. Gavin Newsom has presented his counter to Donald Trump's gerrymandering scheme by offering to voters a new district map that would only be triggered if Texas changes their map first. Jen Psaki takes a closer look at the Christian nationalist extremists who have a concerning amount of influence on member...

Aug 15, 202541 minEp. 202508149

'Straight out of the Twilight Zone': Congressman shocked at ICE facility 'cover-up'

Donald Trump cements his dictator identity by rewriting U.S. history to his liking, tampering with museum exhibits, and deploying the U.S. military against Americans in the name of crime fighting. Democratic members of Congress try to hold ICE accountable for terrible conditions at its internment prisons, but HHS is getting better at hiding its tracks and its abuses. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s deranged ideas about vaccines are not only hurting the preparedness of the United States to address new di...

Aug 14, 202542 minEp. 202508139

Trump National Guard stunt REJECTED by Maryland governor: 'I will not authorize'

The truth of Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard to police Washington, D.C. is evident in the demographics of other cities he claims to want to target. Governor Wes Moore makes it clear that he is not interested in playing along with Trump's stunt if Trump tries to move on to Baltimore. Moore also says that redistricting in his state is possible if Donald Trump persists in trying to rig the 2026 election with red state gerrymandering. Plus, Jen Psaki answers White House press briefin...

Aug 13, 202541 minEp. 202508129

'TACO' Trump appears to surrender to Putin in advance; replaces ultimatum with concession meeting

August 8, 2025; 9pm: The Trump administration continues to dance around their promise to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, but now Democracy Forward is filing a lawsuit for access to internal communications regarding the handling of the case, which could expose whatever it is that Donald Trump does not want known. Trump has announced an upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at which Trump is expected to make concessions for peace in Ukraine despite have earlier issued an ultima...

Aug 09, 202541 minEp. 202508089

TRUMP HAS DESTROYED THE GOP: Former Georgia Republican switches parties

Jen Psaki points out that, contrary to initial denials, JD Vance, Pam Bondi, and Kash Patel met to discuss messaging strategy around Donald Trump's Jeffrey Epstein scandal. It furthermore appears that the group worked out a list of FBI officials who had a role in some aspect of Donald Trump's legal disgrace, and fired them. Texas Democrats remain in a fight to preserve American democracy, and Georgia's former lieutenant governor has decided to switch to the Democratic Party. To listen to this sh...

Aug 08, 202541 minEp. 202508079

'SHE IS A MONSTER': Survivors warn Trump is dealing with Epstein's 'puppet master'

August 7, 2025; 9pm: Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump distorts the justice system to benefit himself, with the White House machinations around his Jeffrey Epstein scandal being the latest example. Survivors of Epstein's abuse are outraged that they are being excluded again. The Department of Homeland Security has been given a massive infusion of taxpayer dollars to pump into ICE for immigration enforcement, so they're putting new effort into recruiting more agents. And Texas Democrats are sti...

Aug 07, 202540 minEp. 202508069

TRUTH TO POWER: Constituent delivers blast of reality to Republican congressman at town hall

August 5, 2025, 9pm: Donald Trump's acolytes, including Attorney General Pam Bondi attempt to minimize Trump's connection to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficker accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, while hoping that a re-boot of the investigation into the investigation into Russia's support of Trump's candidacy in 2016 will be a further distraction. Texas Governor Greg Abbott tries to get heavy with Democrats who are denying state Republicans a quorum so they can't further gerrym...

Aug 06, 202542 minEp. 202508059

'INCREDIBLY WEAK': Trump goes off the deep end over bad jobs numbers; Fox panel stunned

Donald Trump's reckless manhandling of the levers of the U.S. economy, from tariff chaos to cruel anti-immigrant policy is reflected in poor numbers in the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unsurprisingly, though no less shockingly, Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following a pattern of attacking data whenever it doesn't serve his preferred narrative. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Appl...

Aug 02, 202541 minEp. 250801

NO KING: Trump blows up his own case for tariff power with scattershot excuses

Despite Donald Trump's claim of king-like powers to apply trade tariffs by his own whims, a lawsuit being heard in federal appeals court argues that he is asserting a power no president has, and his claims of emergency powers are contradicted by his myriad non-emergency excuses. Neal Katyal, who argued the case against Trump in court today, talks with Jen Psaki. To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWiz...

Aug 01, 202541 minEp. 250731

TRUMP'S GRIP SLIPS: Signs Republicans are finding less value in siding with Trump over constituents

Jen Psaki points to the rare sight of Republicans daring to defy Donald Trump. And while it's only a few, that defiance is exposing the weakness behind Trump's bluster and threatens to spread at Trump's popularity with voters continues to fall. 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....

Jul 31, 202541 minEp. 250730

Criminal President Trump installs stooges and lackeys throughout legal system with Republican help

With the confirmation of Donald Trump's criminal defense attorney to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge, Donald Trump took another step in his quest to fill the legal system with loyalists, all with the help of pliant congressional Republicans. 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....

Jul 30, 202540 minEp. 250729
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