Embarrassment as Former Biden Aide, Jen Psaki’s, New Show Tanks in the Ratings

Jen Psaki’s leap from the White House press podium to primetime TV might not be going as planned — her new MSNBC show is already tanking in the ratings.

“The Briefing with Jen Psaki,” which debuted in Rachel Maddow’s coveted 9 p.m. time slot on Tuesdays through Fridays, came out strong on its first night with 1.2 million viewers and 139,000 in the key 25-54 demographic. But the honeymoon ended fast.

By the second night, ratings plummeted — viewership dropped to 1 million overall, but more dramatically, her key demographic collapsed to just 65,000. That’s a brutal 54% drop in the audience MSNBC is banking on to drive advertising revenue and relevance.

To put it into perspective, Fox News’ Sean Hannity trounced Psaki with 2.64 million viewers and over 300,000 in the demo. Even CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who had fewer total viewers, managed to outperform Psaki among 25-54-year-olds.

Worse still, Psaki’s Wednesday numbers were reportedly so low that reruns of Friends, Seinfeld, Bob’s Burgers, and even Paw Patrol beat her in the demo. Not exactly the kind of company you want to keep in primetime.

The drop is particularly embarrassing for MSNBC, which handed Psaki the slot after Maddow scaled back to just Mondays. Maddow herself had averaged nearly 2 million viewers and held stronger numbers in the demo than Psaki has managed so far.

While Psaki told Rolling Stone she’s aiming to showcase “emerging” Democratic voices and warn about the dangers of a second Trump presidency, it seems audiences aren’t buying in — or even tuning in.

If the ratings don’t rebound fast, MSNBC may have to rethink whether Psaki is the future of its primetime lineup — or just another political name who couldn’t make the leap to TV star.