The Best People with Nicolle Wallace
- Épisodes
- 91
- Parution
- plusieurs fois par semaine
- Dernier épisode
- 5 Nov 2026
À propos du podcast
Who are The Best People? They’re the most magnetic and engaging people in the room; the ones who know how to get that extra something out of every collaboration, connection, and endeavor. These people are the best at what they do and know how to bring out the best in others. Now, in an era of social and political upheaval, The Best People share lessons that we can all use. Listen as Nicolle Wallace seeks varied perspectives on how to keep reaching for truth, decency, and connection.
Épisodes 91
Tim Miller on How the MAGA Coalition Fell Apart
Tim Miller is still trying to process what he just witnessed on election night. The last time the host of “The Bulwark Daily” podcast was on “The Best People,” he posed a question for an internally divided …
Notes de l’épisode
Tim Miller is still trying to process what he just witnessed on election night. The last time the host of “The Bulwark Daily” podcast was on “The Best People,” he posed a question for an internally divided Democratic Party as they looked ahead to 2028: “What’s on your red hat?” If Tuesday night was any indication, they seem to be figuring it out. Miller and Nicolle come together again to reflect on some of the most surprising and historic wins for Democrats in the 2026 midterms — victories largely brought on by a united effort against an increasingly erratic President Trump. “You're gonna do the Reflecting Pool closing speech when gas prices are $5 a gallon?” Miller asks. The two former Republicans discuss how the MAGA fallacy destroyed the Republican institution, the prospective end of Trump’s coalition and a future full of cautious — but earnest — optimism. “The Democratic Party is gonna really look like the country, both demographically but also ideologically,” Miller says.
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Heather Cox Richardson on Trump’s Historic Collapse
Heather Cox Richardson finds clarity in retrospection. “What we learn in the future will change the way we think about the past,” says the author and Boston College history professor. Reflecting on the …
Notes de l’épisode
Heather Cox Richardson finds clarity in retrospection. “What we learn in the future will change the way we think about the past,” says the author and Boston College history professor. Reflecting on the devolution of political ideology in a post-MAGA United States, the author of the “Letters from an American” Substack series brings in lessons from American history to help contextualize the current state of the nation ahead of the midterms. She draws from an idea that Americans seem to have “lost” since Reagan’s presidency — a determination to mend the government to fit the needs of its constituents. As Election Day looms and President Trump’s priorities seem more and more out of touch with the needs of everyday Americans, Richardson encourages us to exercise the right to change our government when it no longer works to serve us: “The Constitution literally begins, ‘we the people,’ and we have the right to vote. Instead of being afraid to vote, we should make them afraid to stop us from voting.”
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Eugene Daniels and Symone Sanders Townsend Are Hardened but Hopeful
Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels earned their stripes in different worlds before joining forces: Sanders Townsend as a former campaign communications advisor and Counsel to the Vice President and …
Notes de l’épisode
Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels earned their stripes in different worlds before joining forces: Sanders Townsend as a former campaign communications advisor and Counsel to the Vice President and Daniels a lifelong journalist and former president of the White House Correspondents Association. Yet, they arrive at today’s polarized political climate similarly: hardened, but hopeful. Believing that unity is the way to combat a polarized political climate, the hosts of MS NOW’s “Clock It” podcast join Nicolle to discuss all things midterms: El-Sayed's low polling with Black voters, Talarico fever in Texas, and could the senate seat in Mississippi... be in play for Democrats? All three MS NOW colleagues talk about the best version of America they’ve seen under Trump 2.0, exemplified by the Minneapolis ICE protests and the “No Kings” marches — times where we rely on community to propel us forward. “There is a world where selfishness is not the way you have to operate in your daily lives” says Daniels. “The only way to do that is to hold hands and jump together.” And Sanders Townsend agrees: “We're the people, it is literally on us,” she says. “History is gonna record that we made a difference.”
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Dana Bash: Trump Can’t Will His Way Out of His Problems
Dana Bash has covered enough elections to know how consequential this one could be. Coming off the release of her new book, “The Elections That Changed the World,” the host of Inside Politics and co-anchor of …
Notes de l’épisode
Dana Bash has covered enough elections to know how consequential this one could be. Coming off the release of her new book, “The Elections That Changed the World,” the host of Inside Politics and co-anchor of CNN’s “State of the Union” talks to Nicolle about some of America’s most pivotal moments, reflecting on her experience covering presidencies before President Trump polarized the two-party system beyond recognition. “What makes me sad about the Trump era,” she says, “is that my son doesn’t understand that this is not the way politics used to be.” The longtime friends reminisce about a different political climate, recalling John McCain’s emotional 2008 concession speech from their different vantage points: Nicolle backstage with the campaign and Bash covering it for CNN. They also discuss the unique challenge of holding power to account in the Trump era, such as how Bash prepared for her contentious interview with RFK Jr., and look ahead to the upcoming midterms in a time where every election feels like “the most consequential” of our lifetime.
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Doc Rivers Coaches Us Through This Moment
Doc Rivers knows ball. The former NBA player and title-winning coach (Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks) believes that America is overdue for a true reckoning — and that the moment is now …
Notes de l’épisode
Doc Rivers knows ball. The former NBA player and title-winning coach (Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks) believes that America is overdue for a true reckoning — and that the moment is now. “We're having more difficult conversations now than we ever had,” he tells Nicolle. Drawing parallels between basketball and the nation that built the game, Rivers likens America in the second Trump presidency to a divided team, encouraging us to fiercely participate in democracy in order to save it. “You have to try to put yourself out to make the team better as a whole,” he says. Now retired and removed from the day-to-day grind of the court, Rivers reflects on attacks on the press, a lackluster education system and threats to voting rights ahead of the midterms. But given all that, he makes it a point to stay outspoken — and hopeful. “I always think this country survives everything,” he says. “And it's going to survive this — but we gotta do it together.”
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Aaron Sorkin Thinks You Can Handle the Truth
Aaron Sorkin is acutely aware of the criticism that his work is too optimistic — and with “The Social Reckoning,” he’s doubling down. “I just like when an audience feels two inches taller than they did when …
Notes de l’épisode
Aaron Sorkin is acutely aware of the criticism that his work is too optimistic — and with “The Social Reckoning,” he’s doubling down. “I just like when an audience feels two inches taller than they did when they walked in,” he tells Nicolle. The Oscar-and-Emmy award-winning writer and director has inspired countless political hopefuls with “The West Wing,” including Nicolle, who envisioned a place for herself in the White House after watching Allison Janney’s portrayal of Press Secretary C.J. Cregg. Sorkin follows up 2010’s “The Social Network” by assessing Facebook in the age of Trump: telling the story of whistleblower Frances Haugen’s decision to release internal documents surrounding misinformation and potential harms from the platform, alongside a now older Mark Zuckerberg as he reckons with the power of the technology he’s created. Sorkin chose to intentionally release the movie prior to the upcoming midterms — knowing that, if there’s a moment for optimism, it’s right now.
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Michael Lewis Has a Warning About the State of Our Soul
If Michael Lewis has a superpower, it’s the ability to make anything — even the most esoteric subject — interesting. Now, one of the country’s biggest nonfiction writers is tackling Elon Musk, DOGE, his …
Notes de l’épisode
If Michael Lewis has a superpower, it’s the ability to make anything — even the most esoteric subject — interesting. Now, one of the country’s biggest nonfiction writers is tackling Elon Musk, DOGE, his attempts to gut the federal government — and the public servants who resisted him. In “Blockers," named after Musk’s term for the public servants who pushed back against DOGE, Lewis puts the spotlight on six unsung heroes of the federal bureaucracy who did what they could to save the agencies they served. Speaking to Nicolle, Lewis says that “it’s a miracle” these people chose to do the jobs they do, and that DOGE ended up being a “great distraction” that caused chaos and allowed Donald Trump to seize control of the government. Lewis says he wants us to pay attention to the stories of these federal employees because they remind us of our "better selves."
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Judge Esther Salas: This Country Has Given Us Too Much for Us to Abandon It
Judge Esther Salas knows what it’s like to overcome a dark moment. On July 19th, 2020, the U.S. district judge suffered a devastating loss: a man who had been a plaintiff in her court years prior murdered her …
Notes de l’épisode
Judge Esther Salas knows what it’s like to overcome a dark moment. On July 19th, 2020, the U.S. district judge suffered a devastating loss: a man who had been a plaintiff in her court years prior murdered her only son and severely injured her husband. Speaking with Nicolle about the state of the country amidst growing political violence and President Trump’s charged rhetoric against judges, Judge Salas says she thinks America could learn from her personal experience: “Norms have been broken, rules have been shattered,” she observed. “But just like we’ve done in the past, we’re gonna pick up the pieces.” With an unbending belief in the sanctity of the American justice system and a willingness to forgive, Judge Salas teaches us rebuilding is possible, even at its most daunting.
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Anthony Scaramucci Says Trump Made All the Wrong Moves
Anthony Scaramucci has stories to tell. He joins Nicolle for this special episode as part of the new “Nicolle Wallace Presents: 92NY on MS NOW” series to discuss the roots of our political divisions: the …
Notes de l’épisode
Anthony Scaramucci has stories to tell. He joins Nicolle for this special episode as part of the new “Nicolle Wallace Presents: 92NY on MS NOW” series to discuss the roots of our political divisions: the uniquely American conditions that allowed Trump to ascend to the nation’s highest office. The two former White House communications directors discuss Scaramucci’s new book, “All the Wrong Moves,” his 11-day tenure at the Trump administration and the path forward and away from this difficult moment. “I think it will end in darkness for Donald Trump,” he says. But “it'll end with a brighter horizon for America — cause we're gonna fix this.”
“Nicolle Wallace Presents: 92NY on MS NOW” will bring conversations from the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan to MS's weekend lineup. The series will feature conversations led by Nicolle and Rachel Maddow with figures including Robert Downey Jr., Ari Emanuel, and Malcolm Gladwell. Tune in Sunday, October 4th at 8pm ET to catch the first episode.Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
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Pete Buttigieg: We're in a "Make or Break" Moment
Pete Buttigieg thinks this is a “make-or-break” moment in American politics. As Americans continue to struggle economically and President Trump’s focus seems elsewhere, the former US Secretary of Transportation …
Notes de l’épisode
Pete Buttigieg thinks this is a “make-or-break” moment in American politics. As Americans continue to struggle economically and President Trump’s focus seems elsewhere, the former US Secretary of Transportation argues that the moments in history that were the hardest "mattered the most,” asserting that “the 2020’s are gonna be remembered like that.” Buttigieg looks ahead to what he’d like to see if Democrats take control of government after the midterms, including a big one: Supreme Court reform. He also hopes there will be accountability from Pete Hegseth for the ways in which the Iran War has affected America’s international reputation, and for Marco Rubio to answer for lying to Congress about the devastating impacts of gutting USAID. Above all else, however, Buttigieg’s call is for everyday citizens: “The biggest, most important thing you get to do is vote.”
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Ted Boutrous Jr.: “Today was a Feel-Good Moment for the First Amendment”
Meet the man who just won the first round in one of the biggest First Amendment fights in years. Ted Boutrous Jr. has been the lawyer behind some of the cases that have made history in recent years: from the …
Notes de l’épisode
Meet the man who just won the first round in one of the biggest First Amendment fights in years. Ted Boutrous Jr. has been the lawyer behind some of the cases that have made history in recent years: from the fight for marriage equality to then-CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s lawsuit to get his press badge back when the Trump White House revoked it in 2018. Now, he’s representing CNN, Politico and MS NOW after Donald Trump revoked the press credentials of their journalists over coverage he didn’t like. Nicolle spoke with Boutrous just after a judge ordered the Trump administration to restore the press access of the three outlets. Boutrous told Nicolle that revoking White House access for three news organizations is “like nothing we’ve ever seen before” — and that in this moment, it’s more important than ever to “hold the line” in the fight for press freedom.
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John Heilemann: Trump will Pay at the Ballot Box
John Heilemann thinks it’s time for America to change the channel on President Trump. The “Impolitic” podcast host and chief political columnist at Puck sees the Commander for what he is: a “loser” for the …
Notes de l’épisode
John Heilemann thinks it’s time for America to change the channel on President Trump. The “Impolitic” podcast host and chief political columnist at Puck sees the Commander for what he is: a “loser” for the Republican party using the White House as a “giant profit-making self-enrichment grift.” He and Nicolle discuss Trump’s various attempts to interfere with American elections, reflect on “Game Change” — the Heilemann co-penned book that was turned into a 2012 film starring Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace — and reminisce about their time together on-air. They also discuss exponentially growing technological threats as AI figureheads begin sounding the alarm about their own products and discuss how, ironically, this could be the nonpartisan issue to mend a divided political climate. “I think it’s going to reshape our politics,” says Heilemann, noting that, for all of its terrifying implications, “it’s an enormous opportunity, politically” for whoever can take the lead.
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
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Dan Harris Wants Us to Stop Worrying Alone
Dan Harris knows that the most important fight is the one happening within. Reflecting on his journey of self-regulation, the former ABC anchor recalls a news report on Good Morning America on a warm June …
Notes de l’épisode
Dan Harris knows that the most important fight is the one happening within. Reflecting on his journey of self-regulation, the former ABC anchor recalls a news report on Good Morning America on a warm June morning in 2004 where he — very publicly — had a panic attack live on-air. It was a huge wake up call for Harris, he says. “I realized I needed to change my life.” More than two decades later, the “10% Happier” podcast host joins Nicolle days after the debut of his two new series: MS NOW’s “The Week in Sanity” and “Never Worry Alone.” They discuss the benefits of meditation, argue against the toxicity of modern wellness culture and assert that despair is one of the enemies of democracy. In an anxious and polarized political climate, Harris encourages people to lean on each other, noting that “trying to do it alone is a really reliable route to suffering.” In fact, if salvation exists from pessimism about the future, it’s in the form of love. “When you do good, it feels good.”
“The Week in Sanity” and “Never Worry Alone” are available to MS NOW Members. Become an MS NOW Member by visiting ms.now/membership.
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
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Julia Curlee: “This is my Country, Too.”
Julia Curlee brings stories of a remarkable career, recounting her time as a CIA analyst and as an intelligence briefer for Vice President Mike Pence. She begins, however, by talking about the most …
Notes de l’épisode
Julia Curlee brings stories of a remarkable career, recounting her time as a CIA analyst and as an intelligence briefer for Vice President Mike Pence. She begins, however, by talking about the most “unremarkable” aspects of her tenure: up until she was fired in 2025 by the Trump administration for being transgender, Curlee recalls a tolerant government and a good working relationship with Pence. The former Vice President “used the intelligence community the way it was designed,” she tells Nicolle, as opposed to some current intelligence personnel who concern themselves only with “providing the president with information that he wants to hear.” She points to this shift as one of many examples of how the second Trump term is exponentially more dangerous than the first, addressing the United States’ declining international reputation amidst the war in Iran and the ways in which the government uses internal division as a tool to distract from their failure to improve the lives of Americans. And still, she refuses to stand down in the fight to preserve democracy: “This is my country, too.”
Here is Julia’s piece in The Atlantic: The Wrong Kind of American
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
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Best of The Best: Chris Hayes Makes His Curiosity the Antidote to Anxiety
This week, we’re revisiting an episode we recorded back in May with MSNOW’s own Chris Hayes. Please enjoy! We’ll be back with a new episode next week. Chris Hayes’ antidote to anxiety is always curiosity …
Notes de l’épisode
This week, we’re revisiting an episode we recorded back in May with MSNOW’s own Chris Hayes. Please enjoy! We’ll be back with a new episode next week.
Chris Hayes’ antidote to anxiety is always curiosity. Whether on TV with "All In," on his podcast (aptly named “Why Is This Happening?”), or writing about our waning attention spans in his latest book, he looks to make sense of this era’s firehose of information by seeking out the reasons behind the very human decisions we make. This curiosity prompted a deep dive series on his podcast into artificial intelligence: "The AI End Game," tracing AI's evolution to how it will impact our democracy and what guardrails need to be applied. This week, Chris joins Nicolle to talk about how Democrats can rebuild faith in government in a “low trust” democracy, what we can learn from our political past “while not being obsessed with it and trapped in it” and what deeper questions we should be asking about AI. And in his search to understand this technology, he discovered an unintended source of inspiration because “it brings us back in some ways to what we find beautiful and thrilling about being human.”
Search "Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast" to listen to the full series, "The AI End Game."
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
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Tim Miller Thinks Trump is Losing His Grip
Tim Miller has some ideas about how Democrats can seize this moment as President Trump’s poll numbers continue to decline. A GOP strategist turned never-Trumper, the host of “The Bulwark Daily” podcast now …
Notes de l’épisode
Tim Miller has some ideas about how Democrats can seize this moment as President Trump’s poll numbers continue to decline. A GOP strategist turned never-Trumper, the host of “The Bulwark Daily” podcast now commits himself to dispelling the MAGA myth full time. “Hopefully, that ripples out in a way that’s useful,” he says. He and Nicolle identify a shift in Trump’s more casual supporters, as the manosphere sours on the president and Tim hears MAGA focus group participants acknowledge that Trump “doesn't seem like he's focused on me at all." Miller also challenges center-left Democratic politicians to identify which faults of the party allowed Trump to win a second term (“What’s on your red hat?”). Looking to the midterms and the start of the presidential race next year, Miller says that the “scariest” half of the Trump presidency lies ahead — and we’ll need to stay sharp. “Take a vacation,” he tells Nicolle. “We’re gonna have so much work to do.”
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Tim Snyder on the “Tiny Infinitesimal Amount of Courage” We Need
Tim Snyder sees through the myth of President Trump’s strength. “He’s not actually strong,” the “On Tyranny” author and historian tells Nicolle, likening the Commander in Chief to the smoke and mirrors that …
Notes de l’épisode
Tim Snyder sees through the myth of President Trump’s strength. “He’s not actually strong,” the “On Tyranny” author and historian tells Nicolle, likening the Commander in Chief to the smoke and mirrors that build up the image of the Wizard of Oz. “He’s not actually even that good at being corrupt.” As a scholar of autocracies and failed experiments in democracy, Snyder expresses his disappointment with the American disposition that freedom is guaranteed “because it’s America,” telling Nicolle that we make ourselves more vulnerable by assuming that this democracy will continue to thrive on its own. It must be protected and fought for, he argues — and Americans must take hold of the story, even if it’s uncomfortable. Stressing the importance of the midterms, his advice to voters is to act and engage: “[Trump] only wins if everybody thinks they can do nothing,” he says. “If everybody — or even most people — think that they can do a little bit, it's game over.”
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
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Marc Elias: We’re Not Heading Towards the Precipice — “We’re There”
Marc Elias is adamant: what’s dangerous in this era is that many people think President Trump’s second term is just business as usual. As the administration works to undermine fair elections ahead of the …
Notes de l’épisode
Marc Elias is adamant: what’s dangerous in this era is that many people think President Trump’s second term is just business as usual. As the administration works to undermine fair elections ahead of the midterms, the chair of Elias Law Group and founder of “Democracy Docket” joins Nicolle to analyze Trump’s tactics — and why the Democratic party needs to stop operating on the “presumption that there is good faith” on the opposing team. In Elias’ telling, “Democrats need to be the party that is fighting corruption, is fighting the restriction of the [voting] franchise, is fighting for people to be able to influence their government.” And while he’s concerned over what a post-midterm Trump administration might unleash, Elias makes it clear that once Trump leaves office, he won’t let the president's allies forget their mistakes — and he believes the world won’t either.
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Brian Driscoll on the Hollowing Out of the FBI: "It's Devastating”
Brian Driscoll doesn’t have to be a “hopeful guy” — and yet, he is. A year ago, he was fired as acting director of the FBI after resisting demands to hand over the names of agents who worked on January 6 …
Notes de l’épisode
Brian Driscoll doesn’t have to be a “hopeful guy” — and yet, he is. A year ago, he was fired as acting director of the FBI after resisting demands to hand over the names of agents who worked on January 6 insurrection investigations. Now, the career special agent joins Nicolle to reflect on his decades-long tenure at the department and the state of the FBI under its current leadership. “The American people deserve better than any agenda can offer,” he says. “They deserve selfless service.” He talks candidly about the events leading up to his firing, the infamous clerical error that led to his promotion as acting head of the bureau and the “devastating” political retribution campaign carried out by the Trump administration against veterans of the agency. Still, Driscoll believes his former colleagues “will not fall into complacency” and stands firm on the fact that — once the fog created by the second Trump term has cleared — countless exiled public servants are standing by, ready to rebuild.
A Note to Listeners: As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content and early access to new episodes of "The Best People."
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Sue Gordon: Trump’s Approach to Intel is “Breathtakingly Reckless"
Sue Gordon is indefatigable. Nicolle calls her a “unicorn”: a rare case of somebody who served with honor and integrity as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence — and who Donald Trump, at least …
Notes de l’épisode
Sue Gordon is indefatigable. Nicolle calls her a “unicorn”: a rare case of somebody who served with honor and integrity as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence — and who Donald Trump, at least for a while, kept around. “I am for America,” Gordon says, declaring that as her North Star. Throughout her decorated career in intelligence, Gordon has always understood that telling the truth is imperative in keeping the president informed and the nation safe. She talks bluntly about the administration putting innocent people in harm’s way in Iran, calls Jay Clayton’s refusal to state that Joe Biden won the 2020 election during his confirmation hearing “100% disqualifying” and points to Trump being “more cruel” in his second term. She does not believe, however, that the president cannot be reasoned with. Taking a beat, she says: “Maybe I need to call him.”
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Heather Cox Richardson on America’s Vibe Shift
If historian Heather Cox Richardson ever had an agenda, it’d be protecting democracy. The history professor and author of the “Letters from an American” Substack joins Nicolle this week to consider the knock-on …
Notes de l’épisode
If historian Heather Cox Richardson ever had an agenda, it’d be protecting democracy. The history professor and author of the “Letters from an American” Substack joins Nicolle this week to consider the knock-on effects of economic pain at the grocery store and unpredictability at the podium on voter’s perception of Trumpism. She reflects on violence from ICE officers in her home state of Maine, the whiplash messaging in the war with Iran and concerns about the cyclosporiasis outbreak — which she sees as emblematic of places “where the federal government used to protect American families and are no longer.” Throughout, Richardson seamlessly adds historical context to our modern-day political struggles. And she makes it clear that we may already have what we need to recover: “What Americans are really doing in this moment is recovering their agency,” she says. “That’s a vibe shift.”
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Rachel Maddow: Donald Trump is ‘Emotionally Incontinent’
Nicolle sits down with her dear friend and colleague Rachel Maddow for a revealing conversation about the state of the nation and Rachel's coverage of the Trump administration's cruel and violent immigration …
Notes de l’épisode
Nicolle sits down with her dear friend and colleague Rachel Maddow for a revealing conversation about the state of the nation and Rachel's coverage of the Trump administration's cruel and violent immigration policies in the wake of two tragic shooting deaths by ICE agents in the span of a week. They also delve into how Trump's erratic behavior, which Rachel describes as his spiral into "emotional incontinence," has made him incapable of making strategic decisions. The duo talks about the dangers of his incoherence where the war with Iran is concerned, his fantastical claims of charging a toll on the Strait of Hormuz and how all of it is building up to a backlash against Trump and the Republican Party.
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Jim Acosta Is Still Asking the Tough Questions
Jim Acosta is pretty sure that when 60 Minutes is in trouble, we're all in trouble. A year and a half after stepping down from a storied career as a White House correspondent and anchor at CNN, the independent …
Notes de l’épisode
Jim Acosta is pretty sure that when 60 Minutes is in trouble, we're all in trouble. A year and a half after stepping down from a storied career as a White House correspondent and anchor at CNN, the independent journalist begins by addressing his departure from the network: “There was intense pressure for me to be gone,” he tells Nicolle. But there is a freedom he now relishes to speak openly and directly about the dark corners the president has awoken in his second term. Calling the 2024 election “a terrible national mistake,” he tells Nicolle that “now we're on the dark side of the moon and the question becomes, can we get out of this on the other side?” They touch on Trump’s financial schemes, the public framing of Hunter Biden’s struggle with addiction and Acosta’s own experiences covering Trump across his two terms — noting that this is “not the same Donald Trump I covered” in 2016. And as the nation eyes the coming midterms, he notes, "the American people still have the ability to surprise us."
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Sen. Raphael Warnock: "The Power is in the People. It's Not the People in Power”
Senator and Pastor Raphael Warnock recognizes that “Democracy is the house we live in. It's the context in which we get to fight.” Coming off the release of his new book, “The Crooked Places Made Straight,” he …
Notes de l’épisode
Senator and Pastor Raphael Warnock recognizes that “Democracy is the house we live in. It's the context in which we get to fight.” Coming off the release of his new book, “The Crooked Places Made Straight,” he joins Nicolle to talk about an increasingly activist court and a system he sees as “overrun with money and corruption.” They begin by addressing why decisions from the Supreme Court on redistricting (Louisiana v. Callais) and ending temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants (Mullin v. Doe) have made, in the Senator’s estimation, "the most activist court we have seen certainly in my lifetime.” He also grapples with the blatant grift happening in plain sight by President Trump and his family, and why Republicans only seem to show courage on their way out the door. But even as voting rights are threatened and wealth inequality continues to grow, Senator Warnock urges us to renew our faith — in our beliefs and in one another. And he holds a deep-rooted belief that while these rights are not inevitable, following the example of his mentor, the late John Lewis, “when you don't know what else to do, keep walking. Keep walking across that bridge.”
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Exclusive: Jack Smith Will Not Be Intimidated
Jack Smith is speaking out. In his first news interview since criminally charging Donald Trump and finding himself on the President’s enemies list, the former DOJ Special Counsel sits down with Nicolle Wallace …
Notes de l’épisode
Jack Smith is speaking out. In his first news interview since criminally charging Donald Trump and finding himself on the President’s enemies list, the former DOJ Special Counsel sits down with Nicolle Wallace. On “Deadline: White House,” he and Nicolle discuss all things Trump: the threats, the conspiracies, the attacks on the rule of law, and the existential threat he poses to our democracy. In fact, Jack Smith understands better than anybody the kind of crucial moment in which American politics is in. As he tells Nicolle, "we are facing an attack on the rule of law that is different in kind and scope to anything I've seen in my lifetime.”
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Eddie Glaude Wants You to “Tell the Truth With Love, Lit by Rage”
Eddie Glaude believes that, “if we're not angry about our current moment, something's wrong.” Bonded by their experiences covering some of the nation’s most haunting modern stories, the author and Princeton …
Notes de l’épisode
Eddie Glaude believes that, “if we're not angry about our current moment, something's wrong.” Bonded by their experiences covering some of the nation’s most haunting modern stories, the author and Princeton professor joins Nicolle to speak candidly about America as it approaches its 250th anniversary — its complicated history and the sweeping wave of white nationalism surging across it. He touches on his new book, “America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries,” whose first sentence is an assertion of his position: “I do not love America, and never have, especially now." Glaude tells Nicolle that, unlike James Baldwin — who insisted on the right to criticize America because he loved her — he does not “begin with love” when thinking about the nation, and asks a poignant question rooted in his experience as a Black man in America: “Why would you think I would love the country, given my formation?” And yet, however disillusioned, he has hope. “The power of America has always been in its people,” he says. “We just need to get clear on who those people are.”
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Pablo Torre: America’s Story is the Story of the Knicks
Pablo Torre thinks sports are the “skeleton key.” The journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning host of the podcast of “Pablo Torre Finds Out” joins Nicolle to talk about the potent power of the game: how sports …
Notes de l’épisode
Pablo Torre thinks sports are the “skeleton key.” The journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning host of the podcast of “Pablo Torre Finds Out” joins Nicolle to talk about the potent power of the game: how sports weave their way through the political spiderweb, the colossal economic influence of a winning team franchise and how the game — any game — can bring people together and give strangers commonality. But Pablo is quick to call out the increasingly transactional lines between the economics of sports and politics, and he asks a simple but enduring question: “Who's getting rich?” He and Nicolle analyze the spectacle of a cage match on the White House lawn and the awkward reality of a World Cup host at war with a nation it's hosting. But they also celebrate the historic Knicks win against the Spurs, noting the pure joy emanating from New York City as a poignant example of why we are, perhaps, “a better country if we have more sports fans.” Ultimately, Pablo believes that sports are a throughline that connects us all — allowing a first-generation American born in New York and a California native to laugh about a bad Mets season.
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Don Lemon Lives Rent Free in Donald Trump’s Head
Don Lemon was one of the first journalists that “pissed Trump off,” Nicolle charges out of the gate. A year and a half into the president’s second term, the independent journalist and former CNN anchor is …
Notes de l’épisode
Don Lemon was one of the first journalists that “pissed Trump off,” Nicolle charges out of the gate. A year and a half into the president’s second term, the independent journalist and former CNN anchor is upfront about President Trump’s waning energy, noting that his “battery is fading” and that what happened at MSG during Game Three was a vibe shift: “I think that there'll be a reckoning, and I think that that reckoning started at Madison Square Garden with the boos.” Operating independently as the host of "The Don Lemon Show" since 2023, Don joins Nicolle this week to talk about the freedom he has now to meet people where they are, amplifying voices that often get lost in the national conversation. Don also shares the backstory of his arrest and subsequent federal charges after covering a protest in a Minneapolis church earlier this year. But for Don, the volatile political climate only means that the pendulum will, inevitably, swing back. “Something good is going to happen to America — and, I believe, the world,” he says, “because of all this turmoil that we're in right now.”
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Liz Oyer Won’t Be Bullied by Anyone — Even Trump
Liz Oyer understands the transactional nature of the current Justice Department more than most. In March of 2025, she was fired from her position as the US Pardon Attorney for refusing to reinstate actor Mel …
Notes de l’épisode
Liz Oyer understands the transactional nature of the current Justice Department more than most. In March of 2025, she was fired from her position as the US Pardon Attorney for refusing to reinstate actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights. Since then, she’s talked openly about her time in the DOJ and its unceremonious end and she's been targeted by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as a result. Still, she continues to shine a light on the abuses within the department she once revered. She joins Nicolle this week for a sober diagnosis of the ways in which Trump has “perverted” her former office and the crucial need to rebuild the public trust in the years ahead. “I don't think anyone ever imagined a president who would say, ‘It's my interests first. What's in the interest of the public isn't primary...’ And that's what Donald Trump has done that's so new and different, and that our laws really aren't built for.” And while Oyer is wide-eyed about the grift within the Trump administration, she is also optimistic that this is an opportunity: “I'd like to be part of the rebuilding in the future... to make it an institution that better serves the American people.”
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Bob Costas Steps Up to the Plate
Bob Costas believes democracy is worth going to bat for. The legendary sportscaster and 12-time host of NBC’s Olympics coverage is no stranger to speaking up when the moment calls — which, as he tells Nicolle …
Notes de l’épisode
Bob Costas believes democracy is worth going to bat for. The legendary sportscaster and 12-time host of NBC’s Olympics coverage is no stranger to speaking up when the moment calls — which, as he tells Nicolle this week, is rare: 99.9% of the time he is calling balls and strikes. But when Bob finds an “interstitial moment” to talk about an issue in the zeitgeist (think: domestic violence, CTE from repeated concussions, or recognizing the racially charged name of a pro-team) he is unafraid to use his voice and his platform to speak truth to power. And this moment is no different.
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