← The Briefing with Jen Psaki
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Psaki: Bizarre Trump Cabinet suck-up meeting feeds his misguided interest in dictatorship
00:40:37
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.
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- [00:00]
Jen Psaki
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- [01:20]
Donald Trump
So the line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crime. So a lot of people say, you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator, but I'm not a dictator. Most people say if you call him a dictator, if he stops crime, he can be whatever he wants. I'm not a dictator, by the way.
- [01:37]
Jen Psaki
I mean, first of all, Donald Trump is not stopping crime. That's definitely not what he's doing. Second, if you have to keep telling people you aren't a dictator, maybe your actions are getting a little dictatory, I think. I mean, this is actually the second day in a row that Trump is claiming that, quote, a lot of people are saying they want a dictator. I don't know about you, but I don't know any of those people. In fact, I have to imagine that the group of people that want Trump to be a dictator is actually pretty small, even people who support him. But that must be hard for Trump to understand because some of the people in that incredibly small group happen to work for him, it seems. I mean, Trump has surrounded himself with people who already treat him like a Dictator. Now, I was gonna try to describe for you just how sycophantic this cabinet meeting today was. How much it would make North Korean leader like Kim Jong Un or Russian President Putin blush. But my attempt to summarize this meeting just no matter how hard I tried, just could simply not do it justice. And this is one of those things you really have to see for yourself as we approach Labor Day weekend here.
- [02:47]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
This is just such a great opportunity.
- [02:49]
Jen Psaki
Really to recognize your leadership as a.
- [02:51]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
True champion for working people.
- [02:53]
Jen Psaki
Everyone knows there's no stronger advocate for hardworking Americans families than you, sir.
- [02:58]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Mr. President, it's pretty great to celebrate Labor Day with a builder who loves labor.
- [03:04]
Jen Psaki
Mr. President, I invite you to see your big beautiful face on a banner in front of the Department of Labor because you are really the transformational president of the American worker.
- [03:14]
Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder
The average family and individual that lives.
- [03:17]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
In this country is safer than they've.
- [03:18]
Jen Psaki
Been in years because of what you've done.
- [03:20]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Our country has never been so secure thanks to you.
- [03:24]
Jen Psaki
You have breathed life back into the.
- [03:26]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Profession of law enforcement.
- [03:27]
Donald Trump
Your tireless campaign and your relentless messaging made people realize the American dream isn't dead, it just been smothered and we're.
- [03:37]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Unsmothering it and setting it loose.
- [03:39]
Jen Psaki
You have brought us back from the edge. You have the overwhelming mandate from the American people.
- [03:46]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
You're restoring confidence in government.
- [03:48]
Jen Psaki
All the industries that have been killed.
- [03:50]
Donald Trump
In this country are coming back to.
- [03:51]
Jen Psaki
Life because of you.
- [03:52]
Donald Trump
You are going to save the whales on the east coast.
- [03:55]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Thank you for saving college football, by the way. We're all very grateful.
- [03:58]
Donald Trump
This is the greatest cabinet working for the greatest president. What we are accomplishing now again wouldn't be possible if not for your leadership.
- [04:08]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
God bless your assembly of this team around this table. We're bringing the American dream back.
- [04:12]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I do believe we're in a revolution. 1776 was the first one. 1863 or so with Abraham Lincoln was the second. This is the third with Donald Trump leading the way.
- [04:23]
Donald Trump
There's only one thing I wish for that that noble committee finally gets its act together and realize that you are the single finest candidate since the noble piece, this Nobel Award was ever talked about.
- [04:37]
Jen Psaki
To receive that award, I mean, what did I tell you? I really couldn't summarize that. The man according to his cabinet is starting revolutions, saving whales, apparently, and apparently saving college football. I don't even. I can't explain that one at all. How could the man not be given a Nobel Peace Prize? How could he not? I mean, either someone scripted all of that fawning praise for Trump. And maybe they did. I mean, the revolution lady, somebody scripted that for her. God bless. Or maybe they came up with it on the spot. Not sure which is worse. Doesn't matter really which is worse. But one after another, Trump's cabinet secretaries bloviated about how America has never been better, all thanks to him. Almost no real business of any kind was actually discussed really at all. It was basically just a big old group hug for Trump's ego. So whether Trump is trying to become a dictator or not, he is certainly surrounding himself with people who treat him like one. I mean, that appears to be the key to getting a cabinet level position in the first place, right? Not your qualifications or your experience or what you would even really do in the job, but how much you are willing to say or do whatever it is that Trump wants. Which means that anyone within the Trump administration, people working in jobs you've never actually heard of, all have an incentive to abuse their power on Trump's behalf. And that seems to include people like this guy. I mean, this is Bill Pulte, Trump's director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or fhfa. Now if you don't know what the FHFA is, and you probably do, but if you don't know, don't worry, you're not alone. It was created in the wake of the 2008 housing crisis to help regulate the mortgage market. It's a very important regulatory agenc and is supposed to be focused on big picture stuff like making sure the home mortgage industry doesn't collapse again, given the impact that could have on millions and millions of Americans. But that's really how Trump and his hand picked director see it. I mean, Trump gave that important job to a 37 year old nepo baby whose grandfather founded one of the biggest real estate development companies in the country. Since taking that job, Bill Pulte has made a few MAGA friendly changes at the housing agency he runs. I mean, did a lot of things that probably Trump and Doge World likes. He fired more than 100 employees. He put a Doge staffer and one of Donald Trump Jr. S business partners on the board of a major government run mortgage lender. And he even tried to change federal housing rules to let people secure mortgages using cryptocurrencies, which of course is a notoriously volatile thing to do. And the industry, I mean, but mostly Bill Booty seems to spend the bulk of his time doing things that have precisely zero, I mean, absolutely nothing to do with his actual job. For instance, he has spent a considerable amount of his time publicly attacking Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In July alone, Pulte posted or reposted more than 100 missives criticizing the Fed chair. That is in no way in the purview of the FHFA director. No way. Not in the purview at all. And he even reportedly gave Trump a draft letter firing Jerome Powell, which Trump has, at least for now, declined to use. But we'll see. But that hasn't stopped Bill Pulte from going after Trump's perceived enemies in other ways. I mean, in just the last two months, he has used his position in government to accuse several of them of mortgage fraud. Last month, Pulte referred claims of mortgage fraud to the Justice Department about two of Trump's very favorite targets, Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, claiming they listed multiple properties as their primary residences. And needless to say, selectively investigating the president's enemies for potential mortgage fraud is not what the FHFA director is supposed to be spending his time doing. To state the obvious. I mean, as one financial regulations expert told the Washington Post, those investigations would typically be brought by the FHFA's Inspector General, not the agency chief. This is like the county sheriff who has his deputies pull over his political opponents every time they drive on the parkway. It's a very astute example, just to stick it in your head, but if you ask Bill Pulte, he says that this is exactly what he was put in the job to do.
- [08:59]
Donald Trump
This is right in the bullseye of what my job is.
- [09:03]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
I promised before the Senate, before I was confirmed by the Senate, that I would investigate mortgage fraud. And I'm not going to be intimidated by anyone. I'm not going to be intimidated by.
- [09:11]
Donald Trump
The media, the politicians, they can say whatever they want. If it's a Republican who's committing mortgage fraud, we're gonna look at it. If it's a Democrat, we're gonna look at it.
- [09:19]
Jen Psaki
Okay? All right, Bill Pulte. If it's a Republican that's committing mortgage fraud, we're gonna look at it. If it's a Democrat, we're gonna look at it. That's what he has to say to his critics. Just one big problem with that. Here's the headline from the Associated Press. Just last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as Senate hopeful claimed three homes as his primary residence. The AP found that Texas's Republican Attorney General and Trump major loyalist Ken Paxton appears to have committed the exact type of mortgage fraud that Bill Pulty is accusing Trump's perceived enemies of committing. But so far, there is no evidence at all that Bill Pulte is investigating Ken Paxton. Of course there's not. So it's pretty obvious that none of this is actually about pursuing justice or going after mortgage fraud. It's about helping Donald Trump target the people who stand in his way. And that's become abundantly clear since last night, when Donald Trump announced he would try to fire Lisa Cook, a sitting member of the Federal Reserve Board. And what reason did he give for taking that extraordinary step? If you guessed mortgage fraud, you'd be right. As with his other political targets, Trump cited yet another investigation from the same guy, Bill Pulte's agency, as the pretext for ousting Cook from the Fed. But this goes way beyond anything we have seen before. It's not just about the firing of Federal board governor, which is a big deal. First of all, she was the first black woman in history to serve in that role. She has an extensive years of experience qualifying her for the job. And also, it's never happened before. That's bad enough, but this is something bigger. This is part of a larger pattern of Trump attempting to grab power, power that no president is supposed to have. I mean, the Federal Reserve is independent. That means it doesn't have to answer to Trump or to any president for that matter, no matter what their political party is. And that means Trump wants to crush its independence. He wants interest rates to rise and fall at his command so he can juice the economy whenever he wants to for short term political gain. That's what this is about. No matter how damaging to the economy that might be in the long run, he doesn't want anyone to be in a position to tell him he can't do that. And it's not just the economy where he is attempting to grab power no president is supposed to have. Trump is sending the military into American cities. He's directing the Department of Justice to investigate his enemies. He's ignoring court orders and firing people across the federal government to get rid of anyone who might try to stop him. No matter what he says or claims, the American people don't want Trump to be a dictator. They don't. That doesn't matter to him because he wants to be one. Anyway. Senator Elizabeth Warren is standing by and joins me to discuss all of this in just 90 seconds.
- [12:10]
KPMG Announcer
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- [12:25]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
What does possibility mean to you?
- [12:28]
Jen Psaki
Um, that's a hard question. Something that you can strive for.
- [12:31]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.
- [12:34]
Jen Psaki
You're confident in yourself and you believe in yourself.
- [12:37]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Stuff that you could achieve.
- [12:39]
Jen Psaki
I feel it's side of anything is possible when you're more confident. Shoes are a huge part of that. They are the most important part of my style. You can like express yourself in the right shoes. Anything is possible. Dsw countless shoes at bragworthy prices. Imagine the possibilities.
- [12:56]
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- [13:34]
Jen Psaki
Joining me now, as promised, is Senator Elizabeth Warren. Senator Warren, I started the show talking with Chris Hayes about how this is a moment where you need an excellent professor who can explain economics and everything that's happening. And here you are. I'm just delighted to see you. Let me just start by asking you. And I just made the point that there's a bigger issue at play here, which is a massive power grab. But I think for people who are trying to understand what the FHFA is, the importance of it, and it's not been around that long. I just outlined a little bit about the guy who's in charge here, Bill Pulte, and what he is trying to do, how he's using his power and authority to really go after Trump's enemies. Explain to us your concerns about that and what the agency really is supposed to be doing. Cuz it's not this.
- [14:22]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
So it's exactly like you said. What this agency is really about is in the aftermath of the crash in 2008, is this agency is put in place to make sure that we don't end up with banks and mortgage lenders that engage in massive mortgage fraud that runs the risk of bringing down the whole economy. And understand it's not that Mr. Pulte is actually using his power and authority. What he's doing is he's using access to individual records of Donald Trump's perceived enemies and he just seems to be going through the enemies list to see, ooh, can he find any place in a complex mortgage document where he alleges someone has had something that doesn't entirely add up? And look, that's all we've got. We've got allegations from a man who's also been making allegations against Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed, who's been making allegations about the remodeling of the Fed. In other words, someone who's out there trying to engage in a political hit job. And this just happens to be the data that he has access to. And he's going to see if he can make claims. And that's all they are at this point, claims that someone has violated the law. And maybe that will help Donald Trump get rid of that person and continue in his efforts to take control over the Fed.
- [16:03]
Jen Psaki
Yeah, I mean, this is, Lisa Cook is obviously his latest victim, shall I say Bill Pulte's victim, which is only 24 hours old. Powell's term as chair is up next year. There's another vacancy, of course, as well. Trump has nominated someone. He clearly wants to do this so that he can control people and what happens with interest rates. But what do you, what do you make of it and what concerns do you have?
- [16:32]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
So understand, you showed at the beginning of the program that Cabinet meeting with all those people sitting around the table telling Donald Trump just how wonderful he is bowing down to Donald Trump. But remember, there's a reality outside the Cabinet room, and that reality is our economy. And it's 330 million Americans. And what those people are seeing is that what Donald Trump promised when he ran for office, Remember, number one thing he promised was he would reduce costs for American families on day one. Those were his words on day one. And now here we are, what, 230 days in, and the cost of groceries is up, the cost of utilities is up, the cost of housing is up, the cost of back to school shoes is up, the cost of backpacks is up, the cost of baby strollers is up, costs are up for families. And that's a real problem because everybody sitting around that cabinet table can suck up to Donald Trump. But the American people are experiencing an economy of higher costs at a time when Donald Trump himself said he got elected on the promised lower costs. Look, Donald Trump needs a scapegoat and a diversion, and that's what he's doing with the Fed. This is the single biggest assault on the Federal Reserve's independence in American history. But it's also Donald Trump's effort, when the economy is slipping sideways, when costs are going up, to say it's their fault and not Donald Trump's fault.
- [18:25]
Jen Psaki
I read this story today, and it was one of the reasons I was so looking forward to talking with you, because we've talked about access to data and to people's Social Security information a number of times. And today we found out from a whistleblower, who, by the way, whistleblowers are how we find out a lot of things, and journalists these days. So thank you to the whistleblowers. But we found out from a whistleblower that DOGE uploaded a database with personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans. The Social Security Agency says they're not aware of any compromise, but it is deeply concerning to me. I know to you what alarms you about it and what is there anything that can be done about it? Because we don't really know what's happened with the data.
- [19:07]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Right, okay. So according to the whistleblower, what happened here was deliberate, it was repeated, and it put literally hundreds of millions of Americans personal information, your name, your address, your Social Security number at risk for being hacked. And here's the thing. It didn't just, you know, it didn't just happen by accident. The data people in the Social Security Administration were saying, don't do this. This is enormously risky to put these data, uploading them in the way you are uploading them. And this group from Doge, again, according to the whistleblower, just went right around them and did it anyway. And now these data have been uploaded to the cloud and nobody knows how they've been used. It's not like they then contacted everybody across America and said, oh, by the way, your data may have been compromised. Nope. They've tried to keep all of this under a blanket. So this is a moment we need to pay a lot of attention here, and we need serious answers. Independent investigation into what's going on at the Social Security Administration and what's happened with these data, and exactly what kind of risks are all of the Americans with Social Security numbers actually facing here? This is important. And what this whistleblower has exposed is something we need to follow up on and follow up on it now.
- [20:45]
Jen Psaki
I could not agree with you more. I think everybody watching is delighted that you're a tireless person in the Senate who's going to do this. I think that pursuit of data is like, one of the most important, alarming stories of this administration and what they're doing with it. Senator Elizabeth Warren, thank you. As Always for explaining things to us, for being here with us. We really appreciate it.
- [21:07]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Good to be with you.
- [21:09]
Jen Psaki
Okay, we're going to take a quick break, but after that. Sparking a false conspiracy to deny the outcome of the 2020 election gets you what exactly in the current administration? Well, a top post for election integrity, of course. What could go wrong? But first, Trump's escalating threats to deploy federal troops to more U.S. cities under the pretext of fighting crime. We're going to talk with Congressman Jamie Raskin about that. He joins me after a very quick break.
- [21:37]
KPMG Announcer
KPMG makes the difference by creating value. Like developing strategic insights that help drive M and a success or embedding AI solutions into your business to sustain competitive advantage. KPMG drives brighter insights, bolder solutions, better outcomes. KPMG make the difference.
- [21:52]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
What does possibility mean to you?
- [21:55]
Jen Psaki
That's a hard question. Something that you can strive for.
- [21:58]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.
- [22:01]
Jen Psaki
You're confident in yourself and you believe in yourself.
- [22:04]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Stuff that you could achieve.
- [22:06]
Jen Psaki
I feel it's side of anything is possible when you're more confident. Shoes are a huge part of that. They are the most important part of my style. You can express yourself in the right shoes. Anything is possible. Dsw, countless shoes at bragworthy prices. Imagine the possibilities.
- [22:23]
BetterHelp Announcer
This is an ad by BetterHelp. Cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes. How do you know what actually works? With a 4.9 rating from 1.7 million client reviews, you're in good hands with BetterHelp, where you can talk with real licensed therapists, not AI. Wellness shouldn't be overwhelming and therapists can help figure out what's best for you. And yeah, it might involve a screen detox. Visit betterhelp.com for 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com.
- [22:58]
Jen Psaki
Today during Donald Trump's three hour cringy sycophantic marathon. It's the only way it can be described of a Cabinet meeting. He repeatedly pushed also for moving more federal troops into American cities. Here's what he said.
- [23:11]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Governor Hochul, Kathy Hochul said that she spoke to you on the phone and.
- [23:16]
Jen Psaki
You said you might send National Guard.
- [23:17]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Troops to New York. You mentioned that.
- [23:19]
Jen Psaki
So will you?
- [23:20]
Donald Trump
I'd love to do it. We have the Olympics coming up. We want to make it really good and safe and I'll put some really good great American patriots in there and you won't have any problems. Don't forget, it's loaded up with some stone cold killers. I would have much more respect for Pritzker if he'd call me up and say, I have a problem. Can you help me fix it? I would be so happy to do it. I don't love. Not that I don't have the right to do anything I want to do. I'm the president of the United States. If I think our country's in danger and it is in danger in these cities, I can do it.
- [23:54]
Jen Psaki
Yep. That was the president of the United States just saying he can arbitrarily move federal troops onto American streets as long as he says there is danger. Because, quote, according to him, I have the right to do anything I want to do. He does not have the right to do anything he wants to do. And he thinks, of course, this is the other bizarre part of this, that this, all of this military in the streets will really showcase American patriotism for the world in the lead up to the Olympics, which he also mentioned. Another bizarre part of it. Joining me now is Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin. He's the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, speaks out about everything we all want to know about. Let me start. It's great to see you, but let me start by asking you just, I mean, Trump has also spoken about sending federal troops to Baltimore, where he has called the city a crime disaster, when in fact the city and I spoke with the governor about this two weeks ago, is now seeing record low crime rates. Obviously, you can always still be doing stuff to address, but it's come down dramatically. How do politicians in the communities they lead push back against these false narratives? I mean, what do you think? We've seen this over and over again now for several weeks. What do you think the most effective way is that leaders should be doing it?
- [25:03]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
What I hear from governors and mayors is the crime rates are falling because of very effective methods and techniques that have been developed by the mayors for violence intervention. For example, there are a whole bunch of new developments in terms of public policies that the cities and states have adopted. It'd be great to have a nationwide summit conversation about that, where people can share their data and their experience and work together. There's nothing wrong with the federal government working with the states and localities. That's traditionally what's happened when things have worked best in the country. But instead, you've got Donald Trump acting like a mad king, simply threatening to deploy his troops all over the country, and nobody even knows what they're doing. Nobody even knows what is the emergency they're responding to. In D.C. he was talking about graffiti and the blight of homelessness. And then, you know, the National Guards, you know, the officers show up and they're taking pictures with people at the Washington Monument and hanging around Union Station. And so it's very wasteful of resources. It's confusing to people, but it doesn't help. And there are a lot of things that the federal government can actually do to help. And that's what the mayors and governors are saying. For example, in D.C. give them their billion dollars back. That was confiscated by Trump's lieutenants in Congress. That was supposed to go for criminal justice and public education in D.C. and it's locally raised money, and they just held it up for no reason at all.
- [26:31]
Jen Psaki
This is such an important point. I mean, there are so many crime prevention programs, there's gun violence prevention programs locally run that need funding, that actually do reduce violence and crime in communities. This is not it. Do you think I hate to ask you about to get in Trump's head. I guess I'm just about to, though. I mean, you've thought about it. Do you think this is about him trying to distract from his tariff plan and Medicaid cuts and how he's underwater in the economy and a lot of issues, or do you think this is more about normalizing military in the streets across the country and getting Americans to feel like that's what happens in cities?
- [27:08]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Well, that's of course, not an either or proposition. I mean, it's a massive distraction from the terrible policy failures of the Trump administration so far and the incredible assaults on the security of the American people. They just stripped 17 million Americans of their Medicaid health security. Nothing like that has ever happened before in the history of our country. They're stripping tens of millions of people of their SNAP nutrition benefits, and at the same time, he's breaking the promise he made to release the Epstein files after a thousand FBI agents apparently found a bunch of mentions of Donald Trump in the Epstein files. And suddenly he went from we are going to release these at all costs to, no, they will never see the light of day. And so all of this is a welcome distraction for him. But I think it's been counterproductive. You see, numbers are plummeting in the polls, and meantime, he's mobilizing the opposition all over the country, from LA to DC to Chicago, where you see the Democratic opposition rising up together and saying, no way. You know, if you want to help us pass a universal violent criminal background check so we can stop the flow of guns into our communities, that's what 90% of the people want. Don't send in National Guardsmen from Mississippi or South Carolina, you know, who could be working on crime in their own communities or working on natural disasters or other real emergencies. Don't send them to come hang around in our cities that they don't even know. Look, he is also crossing a huge boundary in terms of deploying military personnel to work on law enforcement. That's also a major taboo in American life, American history. You don't use the army to go and enforce the law. And of course, our founders had a tremendous fear of professional standing armies, which they thought were a constant threat to the civil liberties of the people. And that's why law enforcement is a local thing. It's a state thing. It's not done by national armies, nor should it be.
- [29:17]
Jen Psaki
There's a reason for that. To your point, let me ask, and you just mentioned this, I mean, and you've been a longtime advocate, I should say, for getting to the bottom of the Epstein files, one of the more vocal people out there. And yesterday, the House Oversight Committee announced that former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta will appear voluntarily next month for a transcribed interview as part of the committee's investigation into Epstein. I mean, just for people to know. I mean, you called for Acosta to testify all the way back in 2019. So this is a very long time coming. It's a transcribed interview. What's your reaction to the time it took and sort of, what do you think we'll learn or know about it publicly?
- [29:56]
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Well, that's going to be explosive testimony because this is a guy who preferred to quit the Trump Cabinet in the first administration rather than testify and confront this matter openly. And I'm saluting my colleagues on the House Oversight Committee and Robert Garcia, who's taken over as the ranking member for keeping the pressure on this Acosta question. Look, Acosta took what was a prepared 60 count federal indictment that could have landed Epstein in prison for the rest of his life many times over and turned it into the sweetest plea bargain in the world, which was one state count of solicitation that didn't even describe it as human trafficking and child sex abuse. And so on one count of solicitation, and then he got one of those extreme sweetheart deals where he was on work release. He didn't even have to be in jail during the daytime he went and he spent the night there and had a slumber party. That was the beginning of this double standard of justice that continues to this very day as Trump refuses simply to release the files so America can see what exactly happened and how the rich and powerful were able to buy themselves these incredible plea bargain deals despite this outrageous child sex abuse and human trafficking that was taking place. And the victims are out there today. And I hope that the Democrats will be able to use whatever witnesses we're able to call to let the victims speak about what happened, because the victims have never really been heard, Jen, and I hope you guys can be part of that, too.
- [31:45]
Jen Psaki
Absolutely. We've had some of them on. I think some of them will be in Washington next week and we'd love to have them on and give them a platform to share their stories. That's such an important part of this. Congressman Raskin, thank you again for being here. I really appreciate it. Okay, we're going to take a very quick break after that, Trump's expanding project to undermine the next election. We're going to talk about that and why Indiana state Republicans were at the White House today. I think, you know, but I'll explain more about all of that and how the two are related after a short break.
- [32:21]
Donald Trump
So in Pennsylvania, you had 205,000 more votes than you had voters, and the number is actually much greater than that. Now, that was as of a week ago. And this is a mathematical impossibility, unless you want to say it's a total fraud.
- [32:43]
Jen Psaki
That was one of the many election lies Donald Trump, of course, repeated on January 6. Now, he said that as he was speaking to supporters, many of whom then went on to violently attack the US Capitol, where members of Congress were certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election win. But Trump did not make up that lie about Pennsylvania on his own. Believe it or not, he got it from this woman, Heather Honey. Honey is a absolutely rabid election denier, a conspiracy theorist, and a protege of Cleta Mitchell, one of the lawyers who tried and failed to help Trump overturn the 2020 election results. Honey, in particular, misrepresented voter data to sell the idea that Pennsylvania somehow had more votes than voters, which was not at all true, not even close. But Trump treated it like it was completely true and even cited it as proof of election fraud in documents he released just last year. But Heather Honey did not just lie about Pennsylvania's election. She has led a variety of election conspiracy groups whose erroneous investigations fueled right wing attacks on voting systems in other states like Arizona and Georgia. Now, it appears that Heather Honey, that same woman, has a brand new job. Yesterday, Democracy Docket was first to report that she has been appointed to be The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Election and Integrity. You heard me right. A senior role in Trump's Department of Homeland Security that is supposed to primarily protect our elections from foreign interference, which is an ongoing threat, no matter who is president. Let that soak in for a second. A conspiracy theorist with absolutely zero knowledge of how to actually run elections, aside from spreading completely fabricated lies about the outcome in the past, is currently in charge of helping to oversee our election infrastructure. It's obvious, very obvious. Heather Honey isn't in this job because she has some sort of immaculate record of protecting voting systems against security threats. Obviously not. She's in this job because of her connection to Trump, who used her lies to his advantage and who may now continue to do so in elections to come. In fact, her appointment comes as Trump has gutted the very federal programs designed to protect our elections from interference in the first place, including the DOJ program aimed at combating foreign influence campaigns. Trump also cut roughly 1,000 employees from the nation's top cybersecurity agency and put the director of that agency, Chris Krebs, under federal investigation. All of these questionable moves begin to make better sense when you consider Trump's political reality. Right now, his approval ratings are completely in the toilet as we talk about a lot, his major legislative achievement, sort of, I guess. The big Ugly bill is deeply unpopular among Americans for good reason. Even his handling of the economy is hemorrhaging support. According to a new Gallup poll, the number of Americans who believe that the US economy is getting worse now stands at 63%. That's two thirds of the country who believe on very. Agree on very little. And if you believe you can't win votes honestly and with integrity. And by the way, getting more people to vote for you, which is how you win elections, this is what you do to hold onto power. And there's more. Trump is threatening to ban mail in voting and the use of voting machines. He's ordering governors and lawmakers in red states to redraw their congressional maps to give Republicans more seats, which Texas right now is very close to delivering on. And even though Democrats in California may be able to counteract Texas with their own revised maps, other red states like Florida, Missouri, Ohio, and Indiana have also pledged to effectively try and rig the game for Trump. Earlier this month, JD Vance went to Indianapolis to push Republican lawmakers there to redraw their maps. And today, Trump and Vance met privately with some of those lawmakers in Washington, D.C. according to Politico, Vance spoke to the Indiana Republicans specifically about redistricting. Telling them they have an opportunity to fight and support Republicans and be real Republicans is how it was described. So what does that all mean for our democracy? And is there a way to stop Trump and Republicans from suppressing the vote in future elections and place a check on their power as they try to do this across the country? Democratic State Senator Shelley Yoder from Indiana joins me to discuss next.
- [37:02]
Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder
Our Republican lawmakers didn't board those planes today to Washington to fight for Indiana. They went to help Donald Trump cheat to win. I guess seven out of the nine congressional seats wasn't enough. I guess 20 years of Republican rule wasn't enough because cheaters don't stop at enough. They want it all.
- [37:30]
Jen Psaki
That was Democratic Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder earlier today at a rally against Republican efforts to redraw the state's congressional maps in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. I love that she did not hold back. And she's about to join me. She's the Indiana Senate Minority Caucus leader and she's joins us here right now. You've had quite a day. Thank you for being up with us. Let me just start. We just played some of your feisty and fiery and awesome remarks at the state Capitol from earlier. There's now the meeting has happened. There's been some reporting about what they talked about. What do you make of Trump hosting a bunch of Republican legislators at the White House to talk reportedly talk about redistricting in your state?
- [38:11]
Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder
Well, thank you for having me, Jen. But I think what's important is we call it what it is and that is an attempt to make a brand new cheating scam happen in Indiana. And Hoosiers aren't going to have anything to do with that. And we're going to have to work really hard to stand up and fight against.
- [38:28]
Jen Psaki
Sounds. And I can hear the fire in your voice and you are not holding back. What can I know? There's a division, it seems like, among Republicans in the state, which is quite telling, I think, or you tell me about. But what can Democrats do in the state? What do you have the power to do to stop this from moving forward?
- [38:46]
Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder
Well, we are in a supermajority. We are under complete Republican rule, as I said in my opening statements, that we've got nine congressional districts and seven of them are held by Republicans and we have two who represent Democrats. And yet year after year we have about a 60, 40 state. And that's simply not reflected in our elected leaders. So what we can do is make sure that Hoosiers know we are going to fight for them. We also know that in polling and surveys that we're hearing Hoosiers don't want this. They are making it very clear. Of Republican voters, 52% said absolutely not. We do not want cheating and redrawing of the maps mid decade. But after even being educated, either way, that number goes up to 60%. So Hoosiers are wise to what's going on and they're not going to have anything of it.
- [39:39]
Jen Psaki
That does not surprise me. I mean, this is not a popular thing in most states for people who are tuning in, they're rooting for you. But they don't understand the laws in Indiana and kind of what's possible because they just saw Texas legislators leave the state for weeks and try to prevent them from moving forward. What happens in Indiana? Do you have to leave the state? Are there other things you can do that are in your power to stop this?
- [40:05]
Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder
Well, because we're in a super minority. We simply. They can have, they can do their business without us even showing up. But we are absolutely going to show up. We're going to show up every single day to make sure Hoosiers know that we're fighting for them. It's sad that they sell, they sold out and they flew to Washington D.C. to listen to Donald Trump's cheating scam, that they're going to want those folks to come back and carry the water to make sure that this cheating scam actually stands a chance in Indiana. And our firewall is Hoosiers. We are going to make sure that Hoosiers know that no matter what, we are fighting for them. All along we have been hearing from voters, we have been hearing from constituents. Whether that is just this. Last Friday, we had hundreds of retired firefighters and police officers not receive their paycheck because of a glitch in the system at the state. And we've been distracted. I talked to these individuals trying to do everything that we can to make sure that they get their payments. We have constituents being thrown off of Medicaid every single day. Those on long term disabilities who are losing access to their health care and to nutritious food, their SNAP benefits. This is happening again and again every single month. And instead of Republican lawmakers doing their jobs in Indiana, they're flying to D.C. to carry the water. Water for a cheating scam with President Trump.
- [41:41]
Jen Psaki
I don't want to overstate the good news of this and maybe it isn't good news. We only have about 30 seconds left, unfortunately, but it seems like the governor is non committal. Is that a good sign or should we not overread into that?
- [41:54]
Indiana State Senator Shelley Yoder
Well, I heard from many of my Republican colleague friends and they at one time were against this and slowly they've been falling in line. So I don't know if they're just trying to hold their their cards to the close to their chest because they know Hoosiers don't want this and it would be better to act like they are with voters and then at the last minute pull that rug out from underneath them and say we are going to have a special session and we are going to look at redistricting because it's not wise to give them a big, I guess you could say Runway because our Republican colleagues were on that Runway today flying to D.C. a big Runway so that they can have a lot of pushback. But Hoosiers aren't going to have anything of it. They're already fighting back and they're already signing petitions. And I would encourage every single Hoosier out there get online. There are petitions out there. Make your voices heard to your electeds.
- [42:48]
Jen Psaki
This is such an important message. Everybody has a voice. State Senator Shelley Yoder, thank you so much for joining me. And when we come back, we have a great piece of news for Democrats tonight. I promise you, just breaking in the last few minutes. Stay with us. Tonight we have some big hopeful news out of Iowa to end with where a special election was held today to fill a critical state Senate seat. Last month, Iowa Republicans selected their candidate for the seat, a controversial political strategist named Christopher Prosh, who among other things, has suggested that abortion is worse than the Holocaust, has pushed conspiracy theories about 9, 11 vaccines, climate change, and still actively denies the results of the 2020 election. Quite the resume, that guy. Now, for their part, Iowa Democrats selected Caitlin Dray, a local marketing executive and founder of the progressive political advocacy group Moms for Iowa. Tonight, the results of the election are in. And in a stunning upset, Democrat Caitlin Dre has won the seat. Her victory officially breaks Republican supermajority in the Iowa State Senate, meaning Democrats finally have the ability to block Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, nominees to state agencies, boards and commissions. All very good news for Democrats in Iowa. That does it for me today. You can catch the show Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern on MSNBC. And don't forget to follow the show on Bluesky, Instagram and TikTok.
- [44:10]
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