The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki points out Attorney General Pam Bondi's strenuous efforts to avoid having to answer for anything happening within the department she leads, which is a problem throughout the Trump administration and is particularly acute in Trump himself, who not only famously refuses to take responsibility for anything but seems to have no real idea what is going on with the things he's supposed to be in charge of.Jacob Soboroff, MSNBC senior national correspondent, reports from the Chicago suburbs about how Donald Trump's anti-immigrant enforcers are targeting even the most benign members of the community, sparking outrage and defiance. Virginia Giuffre once described Ghislaine Maxwell as worse than Jeffrey Epstein and the puppetmaster who pulled Epstein's strings. Her brother and sister-in-law talk with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's weird hedging on whether he could pardon Maxwell.
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Jen Psaki points out examples of Donald Trump not being aware of what his own administration is doing, or of the fallout of his own actions, raising questions about whether Trump understands the political consequences of the harm he is causing the American people with his shutdown of the federal government. Rep. Dan Goldman joins to discuss.Kat Abughazeleh, Illinois congressional candidate, talks with Jen Psaki about the violence and brutality ICE is inflicting on protesters and members of the media who are demanding greater transparency and humanity in the treatment of immigrant detainees. 
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As public displays of Donald Trump's erratic behavior seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity, and the stakes for the fate of the country seem increasingly dire, more public figures are speaking out about whether Trump is not well enough to serve. Rep. Madeleine Dean, who was caught on camera confronting House Speaker Mike Johnson about Trump's condition, talks with Jen Psaki about her concerns.With Donald Trump using the federal government shutdown to allow his OMB director Russel Vought to run amok slashing jobs and federal programs, Shalanda Young, former director of the Office of Management and Budget, is speaking out about the willingness of congressional Republicans to give up their constitutional power to Donald Trump's abuses.Jen Psaki reports on how Donald Trump's trade war, combined with his weird favoritism for his international buddies like Argentine President Javier Milei, has resulted in brutal economic conditions for American farmers. Not only is Trump devastating their businesses, but Trump's policies are hurting their living expenses and particularly their health care costs. Senator Amy Klobuchar joins to discuss.
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Jen's Version: Jen Psaki addresses questions raised in the White House briefing room with real answers instead of the Trump administration's distortions and spin, including the bizarre claim that Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is donating his time to world peace by inserting himself into the affairs of countries that have given him billions of dollars.Maryland Governor Wes Moore talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's bizarre presentation to a gathering of U.S. military leadership, including Trump's suggestion that U.S. cities be used as military training grounds. Moore points out that members of the military follow orders, except when those orders are unlawful.And Senator Elizabeth Warren talks with Jen Psaki about Democrats' insistence on protecting Americans' health care before considering any cooperation with Republicans on a budget vote.
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As the federal government heads into shutdown, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries talks with Jen Psaki about Democrats' openness to bipartisan negotiations but criticizes his Republican colleagues for using a "reckless rubber stamp" when it comes to Donald Trump.Donald Trump's secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, summoned all of the U.S. military's top leadership to an extremely unusual meeting in Quantico, Virginia, only to subject them to weird, self-indulgent speeches from Hegseth and Trump. Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, U.S. Army (retired), talks with Jen Psaki about the bizarre event and Donald Trump's poor understanding of how the U.S. military works. 
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Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann talks with Jen Psaki about the legal issues inherent in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and the procedural steps that have been skipped in Donald Trump's rush to have his political enemies prosecuted. Weissmann points out that having a trial that gives Comey a platform to mount a defense may be a move Donald Trump comes to regret.Senator Tim Kaine talks with Jen Psaki about the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and what seems like glaring weaknesses in the apparently politically motivated case. Senator Kaine notes that Attorney General Pam Bondi says they are still following the facts, suggesting that means they don't already have the facts for a conviction.  Who's next in Donald Trump's revenge tour? Jen talks with White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard.
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While it was generally understood that Donald Trump's installation of his own personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, as U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia to replace the abruptly departed Erik Siebert, was related to his stated desire that his personal enemies be criminally prosecuted, it wasn't entirely clear until today's MSNBC report on the expectation of an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey what was really going on. Jen Psaki reports on Trump's disdain for Comey and his frighteningly direct tactic of assigning unquestioning loyalists to attack his enemies.Jimmy Kimmel returned to his late-night TV show, not only defiant, but before a significantly larger audience, a reflection of the broad support he has received after the Trump administration tried to bully the corporations that carry his show into taking him off the air. Terry Moran, former ABC News senior national correspondent, talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's miscalculation about the importance of free speech to Americans.And the Trump administration sank to a new low as former Trump lawyer turned DOJ attack dog is dabbling in Sandy Hook conspiracy theories with Alex Jones.
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Donald Trump managed to take it personally when an escalator at the UN General Assembly stopped working while he was on it. Jen Psaki takes the opportunity to observe another instance of the "Donald Trump rage cycle," and points out that the thin-skinned president's petty tyrades are less intimidating the more people learn to stand up to him.Jen Psaki revisits MSNBC reporting from the weekend about the FBI investigating Trump border czar Tom Homan until the investigation was suddenly dropped, and reviews a litany of cuts to the government's anti-corruption capacity.The pressure campaign against Disney/ABC appears to have worked, and Jimmy Kimmel is to return to the airwaves, but many Americans won't be able to make the choice to watch him or not on their own because Nexstar and Sinclair, the media conglomerates that own their local ABC station, may have a financial interest in appeasing Donald Trump rather than serving local communities. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic appointee on the commission, joins Jen Psaki to discuss the dynamics at play. 
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Jen Psaki reports on the negative reactions of some surprising Republicans to the Trump administration's use of political intimidation to silence Donald Trump's critics. Along with the few Republicans who have opposed Trump on covering up Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, the unquestioning obedience Trump enjoys from his party may be showing cracks.
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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 shares new MSNBC reporting that FBI agents are being diverted from human trafficking and child predator cases to work on Trump's immigration agenda.Jen Psaki looks at how the Trump administration is taking an active opposition to free speech in the United States in the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, with Donald Trump going so far as to suggest to a reporter that treating Trump "unfairly" is "hate."
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