The Briefing with Jen Psaki
Life of the Party: New Hope For Democrats After a Good Week
Sun, 6 Apr 2025
Jen Psaki breaks down a hopeful week for Democrats, which included hundreds of thousands of Americans in both red and blue districts pouring into the streets to protest Donald Trump, Cory Booker’s record breaking 25 hour speech, and a win for liberal judge in the Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race against the heavily-funded MAGA favorite. Jen also explains why Trump’s tariff debacle is more than just a “little disturbance,” forecasting the rising costs all Americans will now face. Michigan governor candidate, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist joins to talk about how the tariffs have already affected the auto industry in his state as he runs for Governor. Next, Jen addresses the hypocrisy of Trump’s claim of letting the states run their own schools while he uses the federal government to intervene in their curriculum. Former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona joins to discuss what Trump’s big government approach means for teachers and how it might limit opportunities for children. Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen joins next to discuss Speaker Johnson’s opposition to proxy voting for new parents, something that even members of his own party support. And finally, Jen addresses the message Trump is sending when he skips a ceremony for fallen servicemembers and prioritizes LIV golf with the Saudis at his resort instead. 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 recent events sparked hope for Democrats?
A massive show of opposition in cities across the country this weekend after a resounding message from voters in two states. and a jolt of hope on Capitol Hill from Senator Cory Booker after his record-breaking speech on Monday and Tuesday. He's going to join me first to talk about what all of this means and where we go from here.
Plus, Trump's tariffs are having an absolutely devastating impact on the markets and probably your 401k, as well as the cost of everything from fruit to cars to even beer. Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist just announced his plans to run for governor, and he joins me to talk about how Trump's tariffs are impacting the people in his state.
And finally, the Trump administration threatened to withhold funding from public schools. Former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona joins me for his first national interview since leaving office to talk about one impact that may have on our kids.
So yeah, I mean, this week has definitely served up another reminder, or many reminders, of just how damaging Trump and his misguided policies are on all of our lives. And we're going to talk about all of that over the course of the next hour. Tariffs, schools, all of it.
But I wanted to start on more of a hopeful note, because this week has been tough, but has also shown that there are a lot of people out there who are fighting back. I'd even venture to say this has been the best political week Democrats and anyone else horrified know there's a lot of you out there by the Trump administration and what they've done since Election Day.
And what's most exciting is that this energy shift is really being driven by people across the country. Hundreds of thousands of Americans poured into the streets yesterday in communities, big and small communities, too, to protest against Trump. While cities like New York and D.C. saw tens of thousands of people, big crowds also showed up in red areas, too.
Places like Farmington, Maine, in a county that Donald Trump has won in every election. Red Bank, New Jersey, where Trump won the county by double digits. Sedona, Arizona, in a county Trump won by more than 30 points as he flipped the state red again. Missoula, Montana, in a state where Donald Trump won by 20.
So red states, blue states, swing states, people everywhere are making their voices heard. And they're doing it at the ballot box, too, because this week also, on Tuesday, the people of Wisconsin delivered a complete rebuke to Elon Musk, shown there in the cheese hat, as he attempted to buy a state Supreme Court seat.
I mean, the world's richest man even went so far, and this is what you're watching on the screen right now, as to travel there to campaign with oversized checks and cheeseheads. And voters basically sent the message they hated that. That's what they said. Instead, they went out to the polls and they elected a liberal judge by a double-digit margin over Elon Musk's MAGA-favorite candidate.
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Chapter 2: How are Trump's tariffs affecting the economy?
I'm not suggesting this is enough or that it will stop all the damage. It won't. Republicans still run both the Senate and the House, after all. Donald Trump's still sitting in the Oval Office. Elon Musk is still there all the time, too. But these are all steps in the right direction as a part of the opposition.
And also this week, some of the biggest names in Democratic politics stepped back into the fray. Former President Barack Obama spoke to a crowd at Hamilton College in upstate New York on Thursday, calling out just how outrageous the last few months have been.
Imagine if I had done any of this. Let me just, I just want to be clear about this. Imagine that... Imagine if I had pulled Fox News' credentials from the White House press corps. It's unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me. Or a whole bunch of my predecessors.
That sounds right to me. And former Vice President Kamala Harris made a rare public appearance as well, also calling out organizations who aren't meeting the moment.
There is a sense of fear that has been taking hold in our country. And I understand it. But we're saying people stay quiet. We are saying organizations stay quiet. We are seeing those who are capitulating to clearly unconstitutional threats.
So this week showed the Democratic Party still has a lot of life in it for anyone who doubted. And maybe you didn't, but it showed that. And yes, there are plenty of reasons to fear the actions of the Trump administration. I don't think anybody is suggesting otherwise. But what's important is people are standing up to it at all levels. People are making their elected officials listen.
There's a lot of work ahead. Of course there is. But those are all steps in the right direction. Something Cory Booker also acknowledged after his speech, too, in a post on Blue Sky on Wednesday. Here's what he wrote. After getting some rest, I'm in awe of everyone who continues to lift their voice and speak out.
This is a moment for our country and we just we must make a choice about the America we want it to be. And joining us now is hopefully a rested and hydrated Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. Senator, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for joining me. I just want to say, I mean, your speech was good to be back with you. It's good to have you.
Your speech was a big part of what this made this week, a big one for Democrats, in my opinion. I mean, it was inspiring. Lots of things happened. I think it was a good sign. And you spoke a lot about the role of Americans in making what John Lewis would call called good trouble. And you were out there this weekend.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of Trump’s education policies?
Well, you're making me a little emotional. I'm here because of my faith and my family and a great community. Literally, I'm in a van right now doing this interview outside of a church. You know, I was always taught that before you tell me about your religion, first show it to me and how you treat other people.
Before you tell me how much you love your God, show it to me in how much you love all of God's children, that faith is best seen and not heard. And so I was raised in a small black church in Bergen County, New Jersey, by parents who taught me about the conception of radical love of others. I wanted to get everything out of my pocket because I knew I was going to be standing for all those hours.
And I just wanted no weight. So I put my wallet in my desk drawer in the office. But I pulled that Bible verse that one of my team members had given me seven years ago that I've kept that tattered piece of paper. And I said, OK, I'm not going to take my keys, my wallet.
everything out of my pocket, but I'm going to hold on to that one Bible verse in many ways is a symbol, um, of the struggle that we're in right now. And this understanding that a lot of people are hurting, but weeping will endure through the night, but joy cometh in the morning.
And a lot of people are walking through difficult times, but you know, yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, uh, fear, no evil fear for not just that God's with us, but we are with each other. And so that's where my strength comes from. That's how I was taught as a child. And, um, That's the values I want to live.
And I think Democrats make a mistake when we don't talk about how important faith is to us. Even though I know that I've learned from my Bible study and my mom teaching Sunday school that A religion shouldn't be boastful and braggadocious. It should be humble before the glory of God that exists in everybody in humanity.
And that's what I saw yesterday at this rally in Montclair, New Jersey, is I saw the divinity in thousands and thousands of people who thought it not robbery to come out of their house on a chilly, rainy day and stand up for their neighbor, because that's the kind of love of country, the love of each other that we really need right now.
One of the things that is characteristic of yours is you acknowledge when you've made mistakes or when you change a course. And you've talked a little bit about that in terms of how you've approached nominees recently. And you made a point of saying that you've been imperfect in your long speech the other night. I'm sure you can't remember every moment.
I was curious, I mean, when you got off the floor after 25 hours, after not eating, not drinking, not using the bathroom, what happened was it was the—your party, the entire Senate, I should say, moved forward on the nomination of Matt Whitaker as NATO ambassador, meaning no one used the power to put a hold on him. That's one example.
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