Trump's power play is backfiring as betrayed Republicans go rogue episode artwork

EPISODE · May 21, 2026 · 41 MIN

Trump's power play is backfiring as betrayed Republicans go rogue

from The Briefing with Jen Psaki · host Jen Psaki, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Dan Goldman, Ben Rhodes

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." Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins to discuss Trump's slush fund as well as bizarre remarks by Jeff Bezos about income inequality and taxing the rich. Jen Psaki shares video that suggests that Donald Trump was aware of his tax information being leaked months earlier than he claimed in his lawsuit against the IRS, putting him past the statute of limitations for what is ostensibly the basis of his slush fund settlement. Rep. Dan Goldman, former federal prosecutor explains the legal perspective to Jen Psaki and discusses why Trump's slush fund for criminal political allies is legally doomed. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor to President Barack Obama, talks with Jen Psaki about the Trump administration's clumsy belligerence toward Cuba. 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.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 21, 2026

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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."

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Trump's power play is backfiring as betrayed Republicans go rogue

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