The Briefing with Jen Psaki

September 30, 2026 - Despite the increasingly dangerous global security environment, made even more dangerous by Donald Trump's inexplicable war on Iran and Pete Hegseth's mismanagement of it, Hegseth has devoted his attention to prioritizing a cartoonish image of what it means to be an American servicemember. Michael Steele discusses with veterans Rep. Pat Ryan and Rep. Chris Deluzio.
Former congressman and ambassador, Rahm Emanuel, joins to discuss the steady implosion of Ken Paxton's Senate campaign in Texas and the responsibility Donald Trup bears for for putting Republicans at a disadvantage in Texas for the first time in a very long time.
Senator Eric Schmitt was warned that the text message he planned to use as a perjury trap for special counsel Jack Smith had not been vetted, but Schmitt was so convinced of his own conspiracy theory about the criminal investigations of Donald Trump that he ignored the warning and ran headlong into humiliating himself in the national spotlight. Capitol Hill reporter Mychael Schnell joins to explain MS NOW's exclusvie reporting and former Senator Claire McCaskill provides her analysis.

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.

Jen Psaki shares the events at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee in which Republican Senator Eric Schmitt thought he had caught former special counsel Jack Smith in a perjury gotcha only to be called out for his spectacular failure by Senator Amy Klobuchar who pointed out that Schmitt's blind spot for women's sports led him into what Psaki describes as a "slow-moving self-implosion" leaving Smith unscathed and unflapped.
Senator Amy Klobuchar joins Jen to talk about destroying Senator Eric Schmitt's big "gotcha" moment with a simple fact check.
Senator Cory Booker joins to discuss the issues facing the Senate and the U.S. government broadly.
Rep. Jim Himes, likely chair of the House Intelligence Committee if the Democrats take control of the House with the upcoming midterm elections, talks with Jen Psaki about how Democrats intend to investigate Trump administration corruption like pay-to-play deals if they are able to take control of the House with the coming midterm elections.


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.

September 25, 2026 - Jen Psaki holds Donald Trump's boasts about helping Republican candidates on the campaign trail up against the reality that he is being sent to safely Republican districts where he not only won't face pushback from angry American voters, but he won't cause any damage with his politically toxic poll numbers.
Pastor Adam Hamilton, Democratic candidate for Senate from Kansas talks with Jen about why his blue campaign is performing so well in such a red state.
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket talks with Jen about whether and how much to worry about Donald Trump's efforts to purge voter rolls.
Jen Psaki unearths past video of Donald Trump decrying state dinners, especially with China, and contrasts them with Donald Trump's literal red carpet treatment of China's President Xi, embarrassing himself and the United States with his fawning admiration. Former U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan 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.

September 24, 2026 - As Donald Trump ban on members of the media whose coverage he doesn't like continues to play out in court, Jen Psaki points out that the media model Trump seems to most want to emulate is that of the dictators he admires.
Peter Alexander, chief national reporter for MS NOW, and Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, discuss the importance of news organizations staying united in the face of Donald Trump's attacks.
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirscher talks with Jen about the legal principles behind Donald Trump's failure to defend banning certain members of the media from the White House.
Rob Flaherty and Jesse Lehrich, co-hosts of the "Nobody Knows Anything" show, talk with Jen Psaki about the desperation among Republican legislators up for reelection this November trying to distance themselves from Donald Trump as Trump continues to double down on some of his most unpopular positions.

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.

September 23, 2026 - Jen Psaki points out that the last time Donald Trump lost his cool and tried to ban a member of the news media from the White House he had just been clobbered by a blue wave midterm and his political power was at a nadir. Polling shows him to be even worse off now than he was then. Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN who successfully challenged being banned from the White House in Trump's first term, joins to discuss why Trump's bad news makes him angry at the news media.
Jen Psaki explains that despite the importance of the visit to the United States by China's President Xi, the fuss Trump made to greet Xi was not covered by the TV press pool because of Donald Trump's decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. Jay Carney, former White House press secretary, joins to discuss.
Rep. Jamie Raskin joins Jen in the studio to talk about the many ways Donald Trump violates the U.S. constitution, from tearing apart the White House to attempting to interfere in states' elections.

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.