POLITICO's Off Message

POLITICO takes you behind the scenes with Washington's power players to uncover what's really driving politics and policy in the nation’s capital.

News
26
Kirsten Gillibrand: Trump is pushing the ‘devil...
The New York senator has a different word for the family separation policy which the attorney general and White House press secretary call “Biblical.” Her word is “evil.” In the Biblical sense.
49 min
27
Jenny Durkan: ‘The baton got dropped,’ and Obam...
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan was the first Obama appointee to win a major election after his presidency. She's part of a network of Obama-era officials running for office to beat Trump and usher in the progressive era that was promised.
39 min
28
John Delaney: The 2020 long-shot candidate who’...
For Congressman John Delaney, the 2020 campaign is already underway. The money is there. So is the commitment. And people in are starting to pay attention.
39 min
29
Steyer: Pelosi is ‘normalizing’ Trump by not ta...
The billionaire California activist says Democratic leaders who don’t take up the cause are writing off millions of potential voters.
46 min
30
Jimmy Carter: ‘Democracy has reached its peak a...
Former President Jimmy Carter joins us to talk about the lack of moral leadership in the White House, faith, and what it would take for Donald Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
21 min
31
Benjamin: ‘I don’t know exactly what the presid...
Donald Trump the first president to live his whole life in a city. So why does he have such an adversarial relationship with mayors? Steve Benjamin, the head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, joins us to discuss.
41 min
32
Seth Meyers: Trump wanted me to apologize for m...
The “Late Night” host talks about President Trump, the White House Correspondents Dinner, and the time Trump sent Michael Cohen to negotiate a mea culpa from the comedian.
42 min
33
Chris Matthews: ‘I’m not sure trust is what peo...
The host of MSNBC's "Hardball" and sharp observer of politics talks about 2020, why the Trump Show "is wearing surprisingly well," what Trump understands about white ethnic politics and what you don't understand about cable news.
51 min
34
The millennial mayor who could make universal b...
Michael Tubbs is the 27-year-old leader of one of California’s biggest cities. And he’s using that position to try out some truly radical policy ideas.
41 min
35
Rubin: Trump’s GOP ‘has become the caricature t...
Jennifer Rubin is a leading voice for conservative intellectuals who don’t fit comfortably in either political party—and sees the party she left behind as ‘immoral’ and ‘anti-American.’
43 min
36
Inside Puerto Rico’s Plan to Influence the Midt...
Frustrated by Congress’s response to Hurricane Maria, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is preparing to drop a ‘hammer’ in targeted states in 2018.
37 min
37
Should Sessions wrap up the Mueller probe?
Rep. Matt Gaetz on what he's learned as Trump's apprentice in Congress, and why he thinks it's time to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
41 min
38
Pete Buttigieg gets closer to a 2020 campaign
The 36-year-old South Bend mayor is an Afghanistan veteran, Rhodes Scholar, out gay man and plain-spoken Midwesterner. Could he be the next president?
53 min
39
Beto O'Rourke doesn’t want to be Democrats' nex...
The Texas congressman talks Ted Cruz, the lyrics he wrote in his old punk band, and the ways he wishes he was more like his dad.
54 min
40
Schwarzenegger lets loose on Trump, Big Oil and...
Live from SXSW, Arnold Schwarzenegger joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on politics, the environment — and even the upcoming "Terminator" movie.
58 min
41
Democrats Vow to Go After GOP Governors ‘Kowtow...
Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington and DGA head, wants gubernatorial races to become a battlefield for the anti-Trump resistance.
40 min
42
Michael Hayden on Trump, Russia and why you can...
Retired General and former CIA Director Michael Hayden sees a "convergence" between the Trump campaign and Russia. He's ‘very concerned’ about it—and thinks you should be, too.
41 min
43
BONUS: Utah Gov. on Romney’s Trump Endorsement ...
Utah Governor Gary Herbert explains why he doesn't mind Romney's flip-flop on taking Trump's endorsement, the gun law changes he'd like to see, and why Utah is chasing another shot at hosting the Olympics.
30 min
44
Yes to “thoughts and prayers,” but why not acti...
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy talks about gun violence, what he has in common with Donald Trump, and his time working as a textbook salesman.
42 min
45
‘Black women are realizing the power of their v...
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on the political rise of black women, what it would take for Democrats to win Georgia in 2020, and how it feels to visit your father in prison while you're just a child.
36 min
46
Joe Kennedy could be the Democrats’ best hope. ...
Kennedy on why Democrats need a “big, messy” primary in 2020, the reason he thinks Joe Biden would've defeated Trump, his time as Elizabeth Warren's student at Harvard, and what it's like to learn about your family members in history class.
38 min
47
House Republicans struggle with what to do abou...
Steve Stivers heads up the House GOP's campaign arm. And that means that, among other things, he's faced with figuring out where—and how—President Trump can be helpful to Republican candidates.
44 min
48
Evangelicals give Trump a ‘mulligan’ on life pr...
Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council, says that evangelical conservatives are willing to overlook Trump’s past behavior so long as he delivers for them on policy.
45 min
49
‘Washington was about to explode’: The Clinton ...
An all-star panel discusses how #MeToo changes the way we think about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, how the scandals of 1998 would play out in today's media environment, and what Trump learned from Clinton's example.
51 min
50
Perez: GOP must answer for "appalling silence" ...
DNC chair Tom Perez talks about Trump's 'shithole countries' remark, and shares why he thinks the "party of Lincoln" is dead — despite the fact it controls the White House, Congress, Judiciary, and most states.
41 min