The Rachel Maddow Show

Senator Mark Kelly, in an interview with Rachel Maddow, emphasized his view that "it's almost comical" that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are calling it a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that he cited part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in a recent video. Kelly explained his participation in the video in the context of protecting members of the military from a president who "doesn't seem to care about the Constitution, the rule of law."

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2025

Rachel Maddow’s new podcast “Burn Order” drops 12/1. Listen to the trailer now!

Transcribed - Published: 24 November 2025

Rachel Maddow relays a series of stories that in any normal administration would be a shattering cascade of scandals, but in the perpetually disgraced Trump administration is merely a string of ordinary headlines of entirely typical waste, corruption and incompetence.

Transcribed - Published: 18 November 2025

Rachel Maddow looks at the powerful political momentum Democrats had built, including massive nationwide protests and a wildly successful election, only to have their unity falter on the shutdown fight with Republicans, resulting in capitulation that leaves many Americans who'd been encouraging Democrats to stand up and fight feeling hopeless and dispirited. Senator Bernie Sanders talks with Maddow about his objections to vote, Democratic plans going forward, and why "the Democratic establishment" should be the target of primarying.

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2025

Rachel Maddow shares the results of several new polls, all showing the deepening descent of Donald Trump's popularity with the American people.

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2025

Rachel Maddow explains that while much of Donald Trump's abuse of power is typical of authoritarians, Trump has a new tool that no authoritarian before him has had: extremely advanced spyware. Trump is already deploying this new weapon through ICE, which intends to use this surveillance technology against immigrants but also against Americans who protest against ICE, and anyone they might snare with an extremely loose definition of "anti-fascist."

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2025

Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell sit down to discuss coping with this political moment, the mechanics of presenting news, what we can learn from other tough moments in history and what civic actions, in their view, are most encouraging in this era.

Transcribed - Published: 23 October 2025

Not even a year into his new term and Donald Trump is already seeing people take to the streets by the millions to voice their objections how he is approaching his job as president of the United States. Rachel Maddow gives each state, plus Washington, D.C., its due and highlights just a small portion of the No Kings protests that took place in each state on Saturday.

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2025

Rachel Maddow looks at Donald Trump's position of extreme weakness ahead of what are expected to be massive "No Kings" protests, with Trump's agenda running into resistance from everyone from students and universities to members of the media to sitting judges to everyday people on grand juries and in public polling.

Transcribed - Published: 18 October 2025

Ahead of the premiere of Rachel’s new documentary, “Andrew Young: The Dirty Work,” Rachel sits down with Andrew Young and John Hope Bryant in a discussion led by Rev. Al Sharpton at Clark Atlanta University. They talk about Ambassador Young’s historic career and his key role alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement.

Transcribed - Published: 16 October 2025

Jen Psaki’s podcast “The Blueprint” is back with more on how the Dems can fight and win again! Listen to an excerpt now.

Transcribed - Published: 15 October 2025

Rachel Maddow points out the exceptional and unusually effusive praise and thanks that Donald Trump heaped on Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt, at an event tied to the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, in which Trump bizarrely mentioned his race against Hillary Clinton. The episode calls to mind a mysterious $10 million and a related investigation's questions left open-ended after Trump was inaugurated the first time.

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2025

“The Blueprint with Jen Psaki” is back with another season on how the Democrats can fight and win again.

Transcribed - Published: 8 October 2025

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker talks with Rachel Maddow about his threat to leave the National Governors Association of the group won't speak out against Donald Trump's use of the National Guard against U.S. cities. Pritzker explains how he sees the militarization of ICE and Border Patrol agents as a normalizing precursor to establishing a military presence in cities in time to interfere with the 2026 election.

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2025

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump's bizarre impression that the city of Portland is a war zone that requires U.S. military occupation, and her frustrating efforts to dispel Trump of this wrongheaded notion.

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2025

Rachel Maddow hosts former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominiee for president, on the eve of the publication of her new book, "107 Days," to revisit some of the decisions and circumstances that shaped the 2024 election, and to discuss politics and activism in the second Trump term.

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2025

Rachel Maddow points out that Donald Trump is following the "strongman" playbook so closely, and with such a lack of originality, that his behavior in his second term has become entirely predictable. And yet, for all of his aspirations to be a strongman, his leadership suffers from some profound weaknesses, from the economy to healthcare to criminal justice to immigration.

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2025

The estate of Jeffrey Epstein released materials today to the House Oversight Committee, including the "birthday book" that Donald Trump disputed (and continues to dispute) includes a crude drawing and note he submitted with his signature. Rachel Maddow looks at this and other new revelations and how much energy Trump is putting into denying what seems plain about Trump's role in a disgusting scandal of historic scale.

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2025

Donald Trump is attempting to violate the independence of the Federal Reserve Board by claiming the power to fire one of its members, Lisa Cook, exposing the United States economy to the risk that its credibility will be reduced to the compromised level of Trump's. Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Trump is playing with fire he doesn't understand.

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2025

Rachel Maddow lays out three different avenues Donald Trump is following to manipulate the administration of elections in the United States so that his control of the government is assured through the coming 2026 midterms. Journalist and historian Garrett Graff joins to discuss how Donald Trump can subvert democracy without cancelling elections outright.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2025

"Watch what they do, not what they say." Rachel Maddow shows that Donald Trump is not actually bothered by crime, not just because he is a convicted criminal, but because of many examples of him helping criminals. And what else Trump's actions show is a fondness for using the U.S. military to threaten and intimidate the American people.

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2025

Rachel Maddow points out that the thing most Americans were dreading has come to pass, and the United States has changed profoundly in only six months of authoritarian rule. "We have a consolidating dictatorship in our country." With freedoms likely to continue to be curtailed in deference to Donald Trump's power, that means Americans have the most tools for democratic resistance right now.

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2025

In an election year of astronomically high stakes, in the absolutely crucial Senate race in North Carolina, Democrats got their wish with popular former Governor Roy Cooper entering the race. Fresh from announcing his candidacy, Cooper talks with Rachel Maddow about his accomplishments leading North Carolina, and what he hopes to bring to Washington, D.C.

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2025

Rachel Maddow takes a look at the sudden flood of artificial intelligence-generated fake stories on social media, using false stories with her at the center as examples. These false stories have her doing everything from rescuing Texas flood victims, to having a baby, to starting her own news network, none of which are true. The lesson is that now, more than ever, it is important to check the source of anything you see or read.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

Rachel Maddow introduces viewers to the unfamiliar image of Donald Trump's pick to lead FEMA, David Richardson, who finally made an appearance in Texas more than a week after flooding killed scores of people.

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2025

As the death toll continues to rise and search and rescue teams continue to look for victims, the devastating flood in Kerr County, Texas show not only the vital role of weather forecasters, but also climate researchers who help make more accurate predictive models, and the coordinators and other administrators with the experience to make sure the right people are working with the right information. Eric Holthaus, meteorologist and climate journalist, talks with Rachel Maddow about the challenges weather officials face with climate change and staffing cuts under the Trump administration.

Transcribed - Published: 8 July 2025

Rachel Maddow reviews the cast of characters that staff important national security roles in the Trump administration, and whose lack of qualifications for their jobs matters even more now that Donald Trump's bombing of Iran has raised the threat level for Americans everywhere in the world.

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2025

Rachel Maddow shows that despite Donald Trump's admonitions against protesting, and despite physical threats from local law enforcement, and despite genuine public safety concerns, Americans would not be denied their right to protest against Donald Trump and came out by the millions on Saturday for "No Kings" marches and rallies.

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2025

Rachel Maddow points out that the most important story of our era is not what Donald Trump is trying to do, but what the American people will allow him to do. Maddow notes that pushback works against Trump's authoritarian overreach, and the fact that Trump skipped ahead to the last resort of calling in the military against protesters in Los Angeles is a sign of his weakness, his lack of ideas, and his lack of political skills to turn his plummeting popularity around.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2025

Rachel Maddow looks at fresh examples of communities across the United States rallying in defense of local immigrants being hunted by ICE agents, and notes that while Trump was open during the campaign about his policy of cruelty to immigrants, his expectation that Americans would support him in that cruelty was clearly misplaced.

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2025

Listen to an excerpt from Nicolle Wallace’s interview with Jason Bateman for her new podcast, “The Best People.”

Transcribed - Published: 2 June 2025

An invitation inside Nicolle Wallace’s short list of the most inspiring people she knows.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

Rachel Maddow considers how the history of the Trump era will be written and how the defense of democracy and resistance to Trump authoritarianism will be seen as having a wide range of motivations, reflecting the breadth of Trump's catastrophe but also the consistency of America's defenders across demographics and interests.

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2025

Dr. David Kessler had previously described for Rachel Maddow how Donald Trump benefitted from the federal medical establishment in surviving a sever case of Covid, only to make drastic cuts to that institution, including firing the doctor responsible for Trump being able to receive his Covid treatment. Now Dr. Kessler returns to point out that Trump's medical records show another benefit of the federal medical system, and again he is cutting the very thing that has helped improve his health.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2025

Donald Trump is eager to fill out his autocratic profile with a display of military might in the form of a military parade. Anti-Trump activists are planning mass protests across the United States to make sure Trump Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, talks with Rachel Maddow about the effects protests are having on the Trump administration and the importance of local activism.

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2025

Rachel Maddow reviews the many ways in which Donald Trump has made history with the first 100 days of his second term, though none of these achievements are anything to be proud of, and Americans are growing increasingly vocal about their displeasure.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

Rachel Maddow reports on examples of American citizens caught up in Donald Trump's attacks on immigrants in the U.S., some by accident, some by malicious negligence, and some apparently targeted on purpose.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

Rachel Maddow shares another collection of polls of Americans about the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term, with results showing a shocking gap between people who approve versus disapprove. By wide margins, Americans do not like what Donald Trump is doing.

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2025

Rachel Maddow reports on the ongoing parade of terrible polling numbers for Donald Trump, and talks with Rep. Jamie Raskin about the Trump administration arresting a judge. Rep. Robert Garcia also joins to discuss deportations, including breaking news that the Trump administration has deported several U.S. citizen children.

Transcribed - Published: 26 April 2025

Donald Trump's second term is not even 100 days old and already his standing with Americans has soured, with polls showing opposition on major themes as well as specific issues, and the numbers only get worse as time passes. Rachel Maddow reviews the results of several major polls that show Donald Trump's second term is already falling apart.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2025

Rachel Maddow reviews the main lesson of the first 100 Days of the second Trump administration and highlights how the administration's overall incompetence has made screw-ups and reversals the hallmark of their governing. "Just because they're trying to do really, really bad things doesn't change the fact that they're also just really bad at everything they try to do."

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

After Tesla showed a steep drop in profits and a sliding stock price, Elon Musk was quick to blame fake protesters for manipulating public opinion against him. Rachel Maddow takes a look at the very real protesters and polls of public opinion that suggest that Musk should reconsider the public appetite for destroying the U.S. government and firing public workers.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

Rachel Maddow surveys some of the many "No Kings" protests that took place in cities large and small across the United States against Donald Trump's push toward autocracy, and notes that unlike previous remarkable protest days, this one was given prominent attention by major news outlets.

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2025

Did you know Donald Trump plans to eliminate Head Start the preschool program? Did you know he gutted Americorps? Have you heard what he did to the National Weather Service? Rachel Maddow rounds up stories that would be huge news in normal times but may have slipped by unnoticed by many Americans in the shadow of Trump's daily wrecking ball spectacle.

Transcribed - Published: 19 April 2025

Rachel Maddow reads from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the Trump administration as it tries to avoid accountability for mistakenly deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia without the due process that is foundational to American values.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

The judge hearing the case against Donald Trump's deportation flights is losing patience with the administration's excuses and stall tactics, and today raised the specter of holding members of the administration in contempt of court. Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, discusses with Rachel Maddow.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

Trump administration lawyers are running out of excuses to avoid being accountable for the rights and whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland immigrant father who was improperly deported and sentenced without due process to an indeterminate amount of time in a prison in El Salvador. Rina Gandhi, and attorney for Mr. Abrego Garcia, talks with Rachel Maddow about how the judge is pinning down the Trump lawyers for answers and accountability.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

Rachel Maddow looks at creative new ways activists are mocking and protesting Donald Trump's top campaign donor, Elon Musk, for his central role in butchering the staff and services of the U.S. government.

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2025

From his cluelessness about critical cuts made to his agency, to his celebration of dangerous quackery, Robert. F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's HHS secretary, is distinguishing himself as not only incompetent but dangerously so, leading a department with lives at stake. Rachel Maddow reports.

Transcribed - Published: 12 April 2025

Former Attorney General Eric Holder talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump's efforts to intimidate the legal system in the United States and bend it to his will, and emphasizes the importance of the American legal community standing together and pushing back in defense of the rule of law. "The time is now to stand up and do all that we can to fight this administration."

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025