The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki criticizes the priorities of outgoing Donald Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt for avoiding good faith engagement with real reporters' questions while elevating Trump sycophants.

Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby joins MS NOW’s Jen Psaki to discuss Donald Trump’s claims that the United States has “complete control” over the Strait of Hormuz and new reporting for The Washington Post that the CIA questioned the credibility of Israeli intelligence about an Iranian threat to Trump that ultimately led to Trump’s secret flight out of Turkey last month.

Jen Psaki sets the record straight on extraordinary Democratic enthusiasm in this year's midterm elections, as evidenced by exceptional turnout in the primaries so far, and points out that despite the media's obsession with intra-party competition, Democrats are actually very unified with candidates in even the most contentious primaries supporting each other once the contest is over. And meanwhile, Donald Trump's distortion of the Republican Party is producing seriously flawed candidates.

Jen Psaki and a panel of her MS NOW colleagues watch the primary election returns in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Connecticut and discuss the intra-party dynamics this primary season.

Donald Trump appears to be distancing himself from his own Republican Party, perhaps hoping to avoid association with expected midterm losses, despite being responsible for the unpopularity Republicans are suffering for their association with him. Ben Wikler, former DNC chair, joins to discuss.

Donald Trump and his former cable news weekend co-host defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, are reportedly fighting over who is to blame for wasting U.S. military resources and depleting the U.S. weapons stockpile on Trump's inexplicable war on Iran. Hegseth reportedly blamed his deputy. Rep. Pat Ryan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joins to discuss Trump's foolhardy prosecution of the war.

Donald Trump's disastrous time in office has left campaigning Republicans with very little to boast about to constituents back home. What they are left with instead is their familiar playbook of culture war scare tactics and divisive distortions to try to scare voters into supporting them. Senator Ted Cruz wasted no time to resort to absurd smears when asked about Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.

Despite Donald Trump's endless talking about the vandalism he said was done to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Poll, U.S. attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was forced to drop the Justice Department's case against former Olympian David Hearn and admit that the problem with the pool's liner was the fault of the contactor Donald Trump selected.

Whether because of bad advice, manipulation or foolhardiness, Donald Trump apparently thought his military adventure against Iran would be quick and easy, and now reports say he is in a frustrated rage over his own inability to escape the conflict as Americans grow increasingly bitter at the hardships Trump's folly has wrought. Admiral John Kirby, former White House national security communications advisor, joins to discuss the challenge Trump is facing.

White voters without a college education have been a core component of Donald Trump's base and key to putting him in the White House. But a new poll from CNN shows that group now disapproves of Trump more than approves by 8 percentage points. One insight in the poll is that Americans by a wide margin thing Trump is focused on the wrong priorities. Jen Psaki takes a closer look.

A mobile version of the Epstein files reading room in New York City, with millions of printed pages of notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's records, is set to go on tour, in part to highlight the mishandling of the files by Trump lawyer and attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche. Miles Taylor, former DHS chief of staff under Donald Trump, joins Jen Psaki to discuss the project.

Jen Pskai anchors special coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner and talks with a panel of guests about the relationship between Donald Trump and the media.

Jen Psaki points out that it wouldn't be unreasonable for someone to hear the news that Trump suffered another "subpoena fail" and ask, which one? Most recently, Trump has tried to bully the New York Times after he was embarrassed by reports that his new Qatari jet was not properly outfitted. But as everyone by now has learned, pushback works, and the Times pushed back and Trump is left looking foolish again.

Jen Psaki reports breaking news that Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee has referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. Ken Dilanian, MS NOW justice and intel correspondent, joins to explain why the accusation against Smith "doesn't pass the laugh test."

Jen Psaki runs through a litany of Republican candidates this election cycle whose gross behavior, from being sexually inappropriate to allegations of domestic violence have not been meaningful enough to the party to force them out of the race the way Democrats have done with compromised candidate. Jim Messina, former Obama campaign manager, and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha join to discuss what counts as Republican principles in the age of Trump.

Senator Mark Kelly talks with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump's deeply unpopular war against Iran and the effort the Trump administration is putting into covering up and spinning the truth even though the war and its effects are apparent to any American paying attention.

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump's big speech on election security did not get much media attention, even from his most supporting outlets. And the documents he dramatically unveiled were either not new, had already been debunked, or completely contradicted the threat narrative he was trying to stoke. And of course, while some documents contradicted his conspiracy theories about China, others affirmed that he was supported by Russia.

Jen Psaki talks with Michael Feinberg, former assistant special agent in charge with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ken Dilanian, MS NOW justice and intelligence correspondent, and her fellow MS NOW host Chris Hayes about the facts and context behind Donald Trump's criticisms of U.S. election security.

Jen Psaki shows the inherent conflict of trying to stay in Donald Trump's good graces while also showing a panel of Senators that your are honest and forthright and will act in the interest of the American people. Jay Claton, Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, and Todd Blanche, Trump's criminal defense attorney and nominee for Attorney General, both struggled through awkward Senate confirmation hearings in which the things they couldn't say spoke volumes about how (and who) they'll serve if they're confirmed.

Senator Jon Ossoff revealed to reporters that his Republican colleagues are privately blaming Donald Trump for setting them up for disastrous results in this year's midterm elections. Jen Psaki looks at the unpopular failures, from the war on Iran to ICE agents run amok that are contributing to this political dynamic.

Jen Psaki talks with actor, producer, writer Billy Eichner, host of the acclaimed "Billy on the Street," about how humor can sustain us during difficult times, and Eichner’s new audio book, “Billy on Billy: An Audio Memoir.”

Jen Psaki looks at why Donald Trump is likely regretting staffing his administration based on culture war credibility rather than competence as FBI director Kash Patel's antics appear to have reached critical mass, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is spending energy being upset about beards while being unable to end the war with Iran, and Vice President JD Vance is buying himself a multi-million dollar estate in the midst of a political season in which "affordability" is the biggest theme.

Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for the New York Times and co-author of "Regime Change," shares some of the inside perspective she has gleaned from her reporting, including Donald Trump's fixation on his own power and how the war he started with Iran has shown him the limits of that power.

Jen Psaki rounds up what has been a terrible day for Donald Trump, with a string of court losses and a humiliating collection of mental lapses while speaking in public at the NATO gathering in Turkey.

Texas Attorney General and Republican candidate for Senate, Ken Paxton's marriage fell apart two years ago when his wife accused him of having an affair and she moved out of the house they shared. According to new reporting from the Texas Tribune and ProPublica, the address of that house is still on Paxton's voting registration even though he hasn't lived there for years and does not appear to be going back. Zach Despart, Texas Tribune investigative reporter, talks with Jen Psaki about why Paxton may have committed voter fraud, and why that would be an especially rich irony.

A special celebration of America’s 250th anniversary with Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki, and Ali Velshi from MS NOW’s live community event in Philadelphia. In this hour, Rachel Maddow interviews civil rights legal stalwart Sherrilyn Ifill, and the panel takes questions from the live audience.

A special celebration of America’s 250th anniversary with Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki, and Ali Velshi from MS NOW’s live community event in Philadelphia. In this hour Ali Velshi presents his acclaimed retracing of 250 years of American history. And Jen Psaki interviews Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Eric Lipton, New York Times investigative reporter, talks with Jen Psaki about the unprecedented amounts of money Donald Trump and his family is making while he is in office, and Trump's shamelessness about the conflicts of interest earning huge windfalls for his sons.

Vaughn Hillyard, Eugene Daniels, and Scott MacFarlane talk with Jen Psaki about Donald Trump appointing a hatchet man to run amok in the U.S. intelligence community, making cuts based on “deep state” paranoid conspiracy theories.

Jen Psaki makes the case that Donald Trump's failed "state fair" and his other calamitous projects at the seat of American government is an encapsulation of his entire presidency, from overblown vanity projects to sketchy budgets to utter incompetence to weaponizing his Justice Department to help feed his cover story.

Jen Psaki takes a closer look at the dubious timing and thin excuses for the billions of dollars financial disclosure forms show Donald Trump made when he returned to the White House.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks with Jen Psaki about the significance of primary victories by Democratic Socialist congressional candidates in New York City and why sitting Democrats would be smart to meet these new potential members as colleagues and not buy into the fear-mongering frenzy the right-wing is stirring up.

After years of political party power players like Senator Mitch McConnell trying to take control of national party purse strings to which candidates to help and how to shape the party, all it took was one ruling by the Supreme Court to change the way campaign politics is funded. Jen Psaki talks with Jim Messina, former campaign manager for President Barack Obama about how the Supreme Court's ruling changes the game in terms of how political donations are spent.

Michael Steele shares a jaw-dropping exchange between Senator Gary Peters and Postmaster General David Steiner in which Steiner admits that a new proposed Trump administration rule would withhold mail ballots from states that do not comply with Trump's voter database demands. Senate Peters joins to discuss.

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump failed at what should have been the easiest assignment of his presidency, celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States. And Trump even managed to blow up the signing ceremony for what should have been a no-brainer, bipartisan, American-helping housing bill. But it was in his unhinged tweets that it became clear what was really on his mind.

Nancy Lacore was serving as a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy when she was fired as part of former weekend cable news host Pete Hegseth's anti-diversity purge of military leadership. But now Lacore is a promising new candidate for Congress, winning the Democratic primary runoff for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District while on the air with Jen Psaki, and with control of the House in the balance, Trump may regret Hegseth's crusade.

MS NOW's Michele Norris interviews former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama about their time in the White House and opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

MS NOW's Michele Norris interviews former President Barack Obama about his time in office and the opening of his new presidential center in Chicago.

Jen Psaki talks with former speech writers for President Barack Obama, Jon Favreau and Cody Keenan, about the significance of the Obama Presidential Center and how the messaging of hope and hard work contrasts with the bleak mood as Americans endure Donald Trump's corruption and mismanagement.

Former President Barack Obama has made permanent residence in Donald Trump's head for most of Trump's political life, and now, in the shadow of his failed war on Iran, the contrast between Trump's shortcomings and Obama's accomplishments only add to Trump's burden. Jen Psaki traces the roots of Trump's insecurity about Obama, and talks with House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.

Donald Trump's sycophantic FBI director, Kash Patel, has reportedly caused a rift between the FBI and the Secret Service for impulsively posting to social media about an investigation that was still ongoing, part of a pattern of Patel being unable to restrain himself. Patel's embarrassment comes as he is newly accused of making payouts to his inner circle from a taxpayer funded slush fund. Senator Adam Schiff joins Jen Psaki to discuss.

People gathered in person and online to witness the removal of Donald Trump's name from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. The Trump administration made last-ditch efforts to delay the removal. Ultimately, the courts pushed back. Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirshner joins Jen to discuss.

Jen Psaki looks at catastrophic polling data about how Americans feel about Donald Trump and his handling of issues like the economy and his war with Iran Jen also shares interviews from MS NOW reporter Alex Tabet with frustrated Trump voters who turning away from Trump.

A new report from the New York Times exposes the frantic response from Donald Trump's White House to protect Trump from fallout from the revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files and his association with the notorious sex predator. Rep. Robert Garcia talks with Jen Psaki about what the report's revelations mean for the ongoing congressional investigation.

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for Senate from Maine, addresses his supporters in declaring victory in the Democratic primary, thanking them for his support, laying out his vision for the issues he hopes to champion on their behalf in Washington, D.C., and presenting a blistering criticism of Senator Susan Collins, his Republican opponent in the general election.

A report from the non-profit watchdog group Public Citizen points out that while Donald Trump insists that donations are paying for his vanity project ballroom, those donors are being granted federal contracts totaling more than $50 billion.

Former CIA director John Brennan discusses what's at stake with Donald Trump's choice of a sycophant with no intelligence experience to be the new director of national intelligence, and why someone who found a way to weaponize mortgage data against people Donald Trump doesn't like is a dangerous person to give access to America's intelligence products.

While it is not unusual for Donald Trump to appoint completely unqualified people to important jobs in his administration, his choice of Bill Pulte, a Mar-a-Lago suck-up who Trump had already gifted the position of director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be the new Director of National Intelligence is too far for many Republicans who are already dealing with the burden of association with Trump's unpopularity. Senator Adam Schiff, a former member of the House Intelligence Committee, discusses with Jen Psaki.

Senator Jon Ossoff, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, talks with Jen Psaki about the importance of his Senate race in Georgia to the Democrats' goal of retaking the majority, and shares his heated reaction to the news that Donald Trump is appointing Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.

Jen Psaki reviews the fresh string of legal failures Donald Trump has suffered, including a federal judge dropping the hammer on Trump's sketchy IRS "settlement" trick to give himself a $1.8 billion slush fund.

Jen Psaki shares reporting from Pro Publica that the White House played a direct role in helping a company in which Donald Trump Jr. is an investor.

Donald Trump successfully lured the U.S. media into publishing headlines about another imminent peace deal with Iran over Memorial Day weekend, only for the deal to fall apart yet again and the days later the U.S. is firing more missiles despite the ongoing so-called ceasefire. Robert Malley, former special envoy to Iran, talks with Jen Psaki about the cycle of failure Trump is stuck in and what steps could realistically make progress toward re-opening the Strait of Hormuz and ending U.S. military action in Iran.

As Texas Republicans follow Donald Trump's direction and give a primary victory to deeply flawed candidate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Jim Messina, campaign manager for Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign, and Chuck Rocha, former senior advisor to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, talk with Jen Psaki about how the Republican Party's inability to break away from unpopular Trump is setting them up for and even more difficult midterm election.

Donald Trump's avalanche of unpopular ideas and failures has Republican senators livid and turning against him. Even senators who have distinguished themselves as enthusiastic suck-ups to Trump are voicing concerns about Trump's slush fund and the hardships Trump's economy is imposing on the American people.

Jen Psaki points out that Republicans in Congress are increasingly losing their motivation to follow Donald Trump through his wildly unpopular vanity projects and destructive policies that are hurting Americans. On top of that are the number of lame duck legislators who ran afoul of Trump and lost primaries because of him and not have the rest of their term to exact payback as members of the "Yolo Caucus."

Acting Attorney General and former Donald Trump criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche tried to convince the Senate Appropriations Committee that giving Donald Trump $1.8 billion to distribute to his legally aggrieved political allies is a reasonable thing to do. Senator Chris Van Hollen talks with Jen Psaki about why he wasn't fooled.

Jen Psaki looks at the boasts and promises Donald Trump made on the campaign trail about how he would handle China and President Xi, and compares that to Trump's performance on an actual trip to China.

Former FBI Director James Comey talks with Jen Psaki about the state of the FBI in the second Trump administration, the effect of Kash Patel's leadership on morale and the resilience of the FBI's culture to survive the deleterious conditions of the Trump administration.

Jen Psaki looks at the political convenience of JD Vance's new anti-fraud talking points as he struggles to demonstrate some relevance while the rest of the Trump administration goes to China. But too much attention on fraud is a particularly awkward thing for Trump, who is trying to find a way to force the IRS to give him billions of taxpayer dollars, and while he his own son, Eric, with business interests in China, has joined him in traveling to Beijing.

Donald Trump's FBI directory, Kash Patel, testified before the Senator Appropriations Committee and faced more questions about reports of excessive drinking. Jen Psaki points out that despite Patel's umbridge in the face of questioning, before he became FBI director, he did not exactly keep his drinking a secret. Michael Feinberg, former FBI assistant special agent in charge, and award-winning journalist Tim Weiner join Jen Psaki to discuss the corrosive effects of Patel's leadership at the FBI.

The Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act followed closely by Virginia's supreme court rejecting their new redistricting has taken the wind out of Democratic sails, but the actual math and other political factors still favor Democrats re-taking the House in this year's elections. Dan Pfieffer, co-host of "Pod Save America," and Quentin Fulks, former Harris principal deputy campaign manager talk with Jen Psaki about why Democrats are in good shape to take the House and why the party's focus needs to shift to state legislatures.

Jen Psaki shows members of the Trump administration failing desperately to address questions about the price of gas as polling shows an absolutely livid voting public.

Jen Psaki reviews the shocking litany of political targeting by Donald Trump's Justice Department, from investigations and indictments to raids of political opponents led by disgraced FBI Director Kash Patel.

Pete Buttigieg, former secretary of transportation and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, talks with Jen Psaki about the burden of Donald Trump on Republican candidates, even in red states, and how politicians are recalibrating their approach to voters as Donald Trump loses both relevance and any popularity he once enjoyed.

Donald Trump's corruption and greed have reached a tipping point with the American public to become a campaign focus for many Democratic candidates. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor to President Obama, talks with Jen Psaki about the politics and also how Democrats can ensure justice is served as Trump's protective power slips.

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for Senate from Maine, talks with Jen Psaki about the role Donald Trump plays in his race and with the voters he hopes to make his constituents, and discusses the posture Democrats should take to make the most of any political power they are able to attain in the midterm elections.

Jen Psaki explains the map at the center of the new Supreme Court ruling that is likely to weaken Black representation in Congress and talks with Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock about what the ruling's real world effects will likely be.

Jen Psaki shares part of King Charles' speech to Congress in which he explains the importance of checks and balances in a functioning democracy to the very people who have abdicated their responsibility to be a check on Donald Trump.

With a new Fox News poll showing that most American think Donald Trump does not have the mental soundness to serve effectively as president, Jen Psaki looks at the trouble Trump is having even staying awake, and his bad habit of making poor decisions based on the incorrect assumption that everyone will give him what he wants.

Jen Psaki looks at the conflicts of interest behind the business deals Donald Trump's sons (and son-in-law) have made with companies that are making millions of dollars from government contracts and the demands of Trump's war on Iran.

As Donald Trump becomes ever more brazenly corrupt, finding ways to use his power over the federal government to enrich himself and his cronies, Americans are realizing the "checks and balances" they learned about in school are not happening because the Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress are doing everything in their power to make sure nothing gets in Trump's way. The result is that giving Congress the ability to hold Donald Trump accountable has become a campaign issue for Democrats. Jen Psaki explains.

Virginia voters agreed to a redistricting plan that could increase the number of Democratic members of the House after this year's midterm elections, helping to balance the rigging Donald Trump tried to push Republican states to do. Jen Psaki points out that the bad news for Trump in Virginia comes in the context of bad news from Iran, bad news on gas prices, bad news on consumer prices, bad news on his tariff plan and more that has Trump on a disastrous political trajectory.

Sarah Fitzpatrick, staff writer for The Atlantic, talks with Jen Psaki about her new reporting about a bizarre freak-out by FBI director Kash Patel when he thought being unable to log into his work computer meant he'd been fired by Donald Trump, and episodes of excessive drinking that alarmed his FBI colleagues.

Jen Psaki looks at the political signs, from special elections to fundraising totals, that Donald Trump's political favor is fading fast and he has buried himself in messes he doesn't know how to fix.

Donald Trump is learning the hard way that Iran is not interested in unconditional surrender, which is forcing Trump to accept that the only way he's getting out of his disastrous war with Iran is to find a compromise. Former national security advisory Jake Sullivan discusses with Jen Psaki.

Jen Psaki looks at how Donald Trump and his team of apologists have run out of answers and excuses for high consumer prices and high gas prices in particular, and the burden that is putting on other Republicans. And then, as if he hadn't lost enough support for his anti-immigrant campaign of terror, starting an unnecessary war, and causing a huge spike in gas prices, Trump compared himself to Jesus.

With the global economy in upheaval and his domestic approval dropping like a rock, Donald Trump is sending his number 2, JD Vance to Pakistan to try to make a deal with the Iranians that allows Trump to get out of the war he started with Iran with as few embarrassing concessions as possible. Adm. John Kirby (ret.), former Pentagon press secretary, and Robert Malley, former special envoy for Iran, talk with Jen Psaki about the challenges Vance will face.

Jen Psaki wonders at the motivation of First Lady Melania Trump to make a sudden, surprise speech denying any past relationship with notorious sex trafficking pedophile and Donald Trump's long-time friend, Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The first lady even went so far as to make denials that are directly contradicted by evidence in the public domain. Why? And why now?

Jen Psaki helps Donald Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt answer some of the tough questions about the Iran ceasefire deal from today's White House briefing, and Rep. Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, talks about the consequences of Trump war on Iran for America's interests around the world.

Donald Trump managed to avoid having to follow through on his ghastly threat to commit genocide in the war he started with Iran by agreeing to a tentative deal that opens the Strait of Hormuz, albeit with costs and conditions. Senator Mark Kelly joins Jen Psaki to discuss how profoundly Trump has messed up with his war of choice against Iran.

Donald Trump has put a lot of energy into boasting about U.S. military dominance over Iran, including eliminating Iran's ability to shoot down planes. As is the case with so much of Trump's talk, reality has shown him to be ill-informed, lying, or both.

Even though she was unfailingly loyal to Donald Trump, a quality that would be thought to keep her job secure, Pam Bondi reportedly did not sufficiently protect Donald Trump from public awareness of his involvement with notorious pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, so Trump has fired her. So despite disgracing herself by shielding Trump and other Epstein associates and turning her back on Epstein's victims, it was Bondi who suffered public disgrace and lost her job because of her own release of the Epstein files.

Donald Trump is so enamored of his White House ballroom pet project that he talks about it every chance he gets, regardless of the setting. Sometimes it seems like he wishes Americans would be as distracted by it as he is. But now a judge has put a halt to the project, reminding Trump that he is a steward of the White House, not the owner, and requiring him to get approval from Congress first.

Despite Donald Trump expressing shock and surprise at how Iran has responded to being attacked by the United States and Israel, Jen Psaki shares reporting that Trump was warned about everything from attacks on regional U.S. allies to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump's struggle with these challenges is due to a lack of preparation, not a lack of prediction.

Even as the war in Iran tests Donald Trump's attention span and the patience of American voters, it's not like other problems that Trump has created that he can reverse by changing his mind and making an announcement. Jen Psaki looks at the sticking points of Trump's war in Iran.

Jen Psaki shares new reporting from NBC News about Donald Trump being fed a daily sizzle reel of Iran war explosions, and growing concerns that even the most basic information about the war in Iran is eluding Trump's understanding regardless of the briefing format. And a classified Pentagon briefing of lawmakers on the plan for Iran was apparently so unacceptable that even Republicans were willing to risk Trump's ire to speak out against how the war is being run.

Jen Psaki tries to make sense of the latest round of answers and explanations from Donald Trump and his Cabinet on how the war in Iran is progressing and what the end of the conflict might look like, even as those answers and explanations only seem to show that the Trump administration doesn't have any answers or explanations.

Jen Psaki shares breaking news that a judge has ruled against Pete Hegseth's effort to restrict the press at the Pentagon from trying to obtain information that isn't explicitly authorized, even if it isn't classified, and talks about the importance of an free news media, particularly in a time of war and with a president who is "lying every time he speaks or is completely out of touch with reality."

Jen Psaki looks at some of the happy talk the Trump administration is offering about Donald Trump's war on Iran while outward signs suggest things are not going as well as they would have hoped.

Jen Psaki reports on the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump's pick to replace Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin. Mullin is already a dubious choice to lead DHS, but a long-running feud between Mullin and committee chair, Rand Paul added a whole new dimension to why he might not be a good choice.

Jen Psaki shares a remarkable litany of instances in which Donald Trump's confident assertions on his war against Iran are directly contradicted by news reports, many of which are sourced to members of Trump's own administration.

Jen Psaki looks at press conferences by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as media appearances by Donald Trump and finds that the former TV show hosts are not living up to the seriousness of the positions they hold and are more fixated on creating a successful image for their war on Iran than they are on the details and strategy that would help secure actual success.

Donald Trump has trained his acolytes in politics and media to echo his reassuring buzz phrases about weathering the short term effects of his war on Iran on the energy markets and global economy, but catchy slogans aren't changing the facts of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the sudden energy crisis that everyone in the world can see happening in front of their own eyes.

As Donald Trump continues to offer contradictory answers and explanations, his war on Iran is running into some foreseeable problems that were among the reasons attacking Iran was ill-advised in the first place. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor, and Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talk with Jen Psaki about the deadly, expensive mess Donald Trump and his defense secretary, former weekend cable news host Pete Hegseth, are making.

Jen Psaki points out the weird and wild inconsistencies in the messaging and explanations from the Trump administration about the war of choice Donald Trump started with Iran, why they did it, what they call it, what they're trying to accomplish and how they're going to keep the world economy from crashing while they do it.

Jen Psaki looks at Donald Trump's oddly casual answers to questions about the hardships his war on Iran is imposing on Americans, as well as Defense secretary Pete Hegseth's embarrassing chest pounding and the juvenile propaganda being released on government social media accounts, and questions whether Trump understands or is even capable of being a wartime president.

Now-former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem managed to keep her job despite a constant stream of scandals and outrages, but as soon as she suggested that Donald Trump, as president of the United States, and therefore her boss, knew about the corruption highlighted in Congressional hearings, that was too much for Trump to tolerate.

Jen Psaki shares a dizzying collection of contradictions and nonsense from the Trump administration and its allies trying to explain the reason for attacking Iran, the goals of doing so, or even whether it's ok to call it a war.

Rachel Maddow and her MS NOW colleagues track the primary election returns in Texas and North Carolina, with Ali Velshi offering special statistical insights from the big board as one of the most closely watched elections, the Democratic Senate primary between Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico mired in legal complications after polling place confusion in Dallas.