Two months into her primetime run, Jen Psaki’s transition from Biden press secretary to cable news anchor has been a mixed performance — buoyed by modest internal wins at MSNBC, yet eclipsed by heavy losses in key demographics and sharp competition from rivals.
After taking over the Tuesday-to-Friday 9 p.m. ET slot on MSNBC in early May, Psaki’s The Briefing has averaged 1.1 million viewers through July 3. That figure marks a steep 44% drop from the 1.8 million viewers that Rachel Maddow — or Alex Wagner subbing in — pulled during the same time slot in early 2025.
While Psaki was never expected to match Maddow’s dominance, the shortfall against Alex Wagner Tonight, which averaged 1.2 million in 2024, underscores a broader erosion in MSNBC’s primetime audience.
Psaki’s struggles are especially apparent in the coveted 25–54 demographic. She has averaged just 90,000 demo viewers — far below Wagner’s 123,000 last year and trailing CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, which managed 108,000 over the same period. Fox News’ Hannity, by contrast, has continued to dominate the hour with 2.9 million total viewers and a commanding 344,000 in the demo.
Among viewers aged 18–49, Psaki’s position is even weaker: The Briefing draws only 62,000 in that bracket, compared to 219,000 for Hannity and 70,000 for CNN’s The Source.
Still, MSNBC insiders are pointing to internal gains. The Briefing is now the network’s No. 3 most-watched daily show and No. 2 in the demo, despite only being on-air for two months. Psaki has also managed to grow the audience from her lead-in, All In with Chris Hayes — something Wagner’s show failed to do during its run.
Ratings did improve in June. Psaki climbed from an average of 973,000 in May to just over 1 million viewers — an 8% increase — with a 17% bump in the demo. These modest gains offer hope for longer-term growth, especially given the soft summer news cycle and rising scrutiny of President Biden’s age and performance — a subject Psaki is intimately linked to, having served as his press secretary from 2021 to 2022.
That connection, once a draw for MSNBC’s progressive base, now places Psaki in a complicated position. The launch of The Briefing coincided with the rollout of Original Sin, a politically damaging book outlining Biden’s alleged cognitive decline and the administration’s internal effort to cover it up.
Psaki’s repeated past assurances that she saw no signs of decline have resurfaced — and they may be undermining trust, even among loyal viewers.
