The Briefing with Jen Psaki

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump's unresolved and worsening Jeffrey Epstein scandal is giving Republicans a headache at home as they've left Washington for their home districts for the rest of the summer. Trump, meanwhile, went all the way to Scotland, only to find the Epstein scandal waiting there for his arrival.

Maria Farmer, one of the first women to speak out about the abuses of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and her attorney, Jennifer Freeman, talk with Jen Psaki about why she told investigators about Donald Trump, and her desire to testify to Congress and gain access to her own records in the Epstein files. 

Jen Psaki relays breaking news from the Wall Street Journal that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Donald Trump in May that that his name is in the Epstein files, suggesting the reason the Trump administration has been so energized to prevent the release of material related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

Texas State Rep. James Talarico talks with Jen Psaki about applying his Christian faith to modern American politics, the scourge of Christian nationalism, countering the influence of billionaires in politics, and what Texas Democrats can do to block Donald Trump's plan to rig the 2026 election by gerrymandering Texas so it produces more Republican members of Congress to maintain his control. 

New reporting from the Wall Street Journal says that Donald Trump's message to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday suggested common interests and "wonderful" secrets between Trump and Epstein. Donald Trump has reacted with threats and outrage, and Republicans are scrambling for a place to hide. 

Jen Psaki reports on Donald Trump's spiraling freak-out over the public interest in the investigation files on notorious pedophile and close friend of Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, with Trump going so far as to condemn his own followers as "stupid," and attempting to somehow blame his involvement with Epstein on Democrats.

Jen Psaki reports on how the Trump administration's insistence that there is no worthwhile information to be released from the files on notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is not sitting well with supporters who believed the many stories spun by now-serving members of the administration. And that discontent is reportedly also seeping into the administration. 

Jen Psaki points out how much of what we know about what the Trump administration is up to is due to leakers and whistleblowers on the inside exposing the truth about an administration where lying is the norm. Trump has been trying to silence truth tellers since his first day in office, and now he wants to put a loyalist, Paul Ingrassia, in charge of the Office of Special Counsel, the watchdog that deals with whistleblowers.

Jen Psaki piles up evidence in a litany of examples of Donald Trump having no idea what he is doing, what is being done in his name, or what is going on in his own administration, and not even doing a very good job faking it. Meanwhile, the scammers are running amok, planting ideas in Trump's head and manipulating him on issues like cryptocurrency regulation.