The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Courting Disaster: Trump Attempts to Erode the Separation of Powers
Sun, 23 Mar 2025
Jen Psaki breaks down Donald Trump's unprecedented assault on the judicial branch of government, explaining how the administration's defiant attitude toward the court breaks with that of former presidents who were dealt tough rulings in the past. Representative Jamie Raskin joins to discuss the implications of their defiance, and the danger the administration poses to due process under the law. Next, Jen is joined by the chair of the Progressive Caucus in the House, Representative Greg Casar, who was with Bernie Sanders and AOC on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. They discuss the massive turnout at these rallies and how hearing from angry voters directly could shake up the party. Jen also reflects on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s handling of the GOP's government funding bill, and the implications for Democrats if they don't find a strategy moving forward. New York Times correspondents Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater later join Jen to talk about their new book “Mad House” and the evolution of Congressional dysfunction, as well their thoughts on what’s happening in Democratic leadership. Finally Jen discusses Elon Musk’s growing Tesla problem, and the scuttled plan to brief him on U.S. plan in case of war with China.Check out our social pages below:https://twitter.com/InsideWithPsakihttps://www.instagram.com/InsideWithPsaki/https://www.tiktok.com/@insidewithpsakihttps://www.msnbc.com/jen-psakihttps://bsky.app/profile/insidewithpsaki.msnbc.com
Chapter 1: What unprecedented actions is Donald Trump taking against the judiciary?
Okay, Donald Trump spent the week attacking judges and continuing to ignore court orders. And unfortunately, history doesn't really offer us a guide here. Lucky for us, Congressman Jamie Raskin is probably the best guide you could hope for, and he's coming up first. Plus, Bernie Sanders and AOC turn out more than 80,000 people during a string of rallies out West.
Congressman Greg Cazar joined them on stage yesterday in Arizona, and he's going to join me in just a few minutes. And later, the phrase conflict of interest doesn't even begin to describe what Elon Musk is up to. We'll talk about why Tesla is struggling big time right now and how Musk is trying to use his co-presidency to help it.
OK, so right now, just to sum it up, I know you all have been paying very close attention, but Donald Trump is ignoring court orders. He's attacking every aspect of the legal system, including law firms. And he's standing by as threats against judges continue to arise. And I just want to start by stating perhaps what sounds extremely obvious here. This is not normal.
And I mean by historical standards, too. I mean, ignoring a judge's order is not at all normal. Insulting and attacking a judge on social media or whatever form of communications there may have been at many points in history is not normal. And calling for a judge's impeachment simply because you didn't like their ruling is definitely not normal.
I mean, look, lots of presidents have been mad at lots of judges in the past throughout history. I mean, throughout history, both presidents of both parties have had courts rule against them. But none of them acted like Donald Trump. Let's go back to 1952. President Truman seized control of steel mills to make sure there was continued production during the Korean War.
The Supreme Court said he acted unconstitutionally, which would make any president mad, right? Even irate. But did Truman ignore them? Did he call for the justices to be impeached? Of course not. He immediately ordered the return of the steel mills to their owners, even though their workers immediately went on strike. That takes us to 1974.
The Supreme Court dealt a huge blow, of course, to President Nixon, ordering him to hand over the Watergate tapes. And Nixon complied, even though it was the nail in the coffin for his entire presidency. And I'm not excusing anything he did here, obviously. I'm making a different point. But he didn't call for the justices to step down. He actually stepped down himself.
He didn't really have a choice, resigning from office only two weeks later. Then there was the time in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush overstepped his authority in ordering war crime trials for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Yes, true. But listen to how Bush responded to that ruling at a press conference that very same day.
I haven't had a chance to fully review the findings of the Supreme Court. I want to assure you that we take them very seriously. I will protect the people and at the same time conform with the findings of the Supreme Court.
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Chapter 2: How have past presidents responded to court rulings?
Congressman Jamie Raskin, thank you for explaining both the law to us and also being out there in all these districts. It's always great to see you.
It's great to see you, Jen.
And coming up, the crowd's turning out to see Bernie Sanders and AOC just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Congressman Greg Kazar was on stage with him yesterday at a massive rally in Arizona, and he's going to join me next.
Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and complain. She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed up and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise screaming, yelling, and complaining.
Listen, put that guy in an ad, Democrats. Blast it out on social media. Take that video on the campaign trail with you. Show it to your neighbors, your grandma, whomever. Because, yeah, that guy was Donald Trump's commerce secretary and multi-billionaire Howard Letnick, gabbing with two other rich guys about how only fraudsters will complain if they lose their Social Security checks.
Guys, calling that out of touch would be kind of an understatement, but a huge understatement, maybe the understatement of the century, because obviously for millions of Americans, Social Security isn't a luxury. The difference between paying rent and being evicted, having groceries or not.
But when an administration is stuck with guys like Donald Trump and Elon Musk and apparently Howard Lutnick, that kind of detachment from reality isn't a bug, seems to be more of a feature. And across the country, people are sending a very clear message. They don't like a bunch of billionaires screwing around with stuff they depend on.
On Thursday, over 3,000 people packed a venue in Las Vegas to see Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That's the biggest crowd Sanders has ever drawn in Vegas, even bigger than when he was running for president. Then they headed to, and I said 3,000. It was more like 30,000, I think.
Tempe, Arizona, back in 2015 when Bernie was a presidential candidate, his biggest crowd was just over 11,000. On Thursday, he turned out 15,000 people. The rally was so packed, even the overflow had an overflow, which is always a sign of interest. Here you can see dozens of people standing in a nearby parking garage to just catch a glimpse. That's Taylor Swift-like.
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