Politico's Off Message

Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin assesses the record of Trump White House--and Ivanka Trump--on gay rights and what the Resistance has to learn. Tony-nominated Paula Vogel talks her play "Indecent" and anxieties about art in the age of Trump.

Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon discusses going from bankruptcy to WWE millions, the first time she met Donald Trump, staffing challenges and her mission to introduce more small business owners to the SBA.

Wyclef Jean’s advice for celebrities who want to get political: Don’t be like Kathy Griffin.Read up, said the musician of Fugees fame, and one-time aspiring celebrity-turned-president himself. And if you’re a high-profile person, think about how what you’re doing and saying might be interpreted, or maybe misinterpreted.

Mention President Donald Trump’s name and Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse closes his eyes, rocks back and forth on his heels in almost momentary pinched smile meditation, waiting for it to pass.He never liked Trump. He still doesn’t like Trump. And now that he’s promoting his new book, “The Vanishing American Adult,” he doesn’t want to talk about the American president’s not counting as an adult according to the principles he spends 300 pages laying out.

Rep. Tom Reed and Rep. Josh Gottheimer say that President Trump can get the biggest tax reform package in history done in conjunction with the largest infrastructure package, and that he can get it through with bipartisan support by early 2018. Reed and Gottheimer aren’t crazy—they’re the co-chairs of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and they insist their day has come. The voters who elected Trump demand it.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti sits down with Isaac Dovere to discuss his relationship with Donald Trump, what he learned about politics from his father and what his hopes are for his own political career. Plus, Isaac is joined by California Playbook author Carla Marinucci for insight into Garcetti's possible career moves.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel believes everyone in Washington is too focused on the craze around President Trump and unable to see what’s actually going on—and what’s not. Emanuel says that “America’s word and America’s reliability is now in question,” and the turmoil and drama surrounding the West Wing has over shadowed major events like the proposed upheaval to the tax code, mounting tensions with North Korea and Oval Office invites for anti-democratic leaders.

Actress and political activist Sophia Bush sits down with Isaac Dovere in New Orleans to discuss fighting for what she believes in (even if that means losing followers), standing up against sexism in the work place and why her social anxiety is "through the roof."

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton sits down with Isaac Dovere to discuss his love of Abraham Lincoln, how he cultivated such a friendly relationship with the Trump White House and what he learned from his time in the military.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich sits down with Isaac Dovere this week to discuss the development of his faith, the difficulty of losing both his parents at a young age to a drunk driver and the moment he met President Nixon and the incredible amount of compassion he witnessed from him.

In Donald Trump, author Margaret Atwood  and actress Elisabeth Moss see an eerie echo of her novels. Activist Stephanie Schriock is fighting to ensure that they're wrong. 

Former Reagan and Bush diplomat Elliott Abrams sounds off on Steve Bannon, President Trump’s about-face on Syria and the boss he almost had.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray joins Off Message to discuss the city's lawsuit against the federal government on the sanctuary cities, how a monk encouraged him come out as a young man and what President Trump doesn't understand about the immigrant community.

Republican strategist Roger Stone says he’s apologized to Paul Manafort for getting him involved in all the inquiries about possible Russian connections to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. But Stone says he hasn’t apologized for anything he’s done himself—not to Trump, and not to anyone else. There’s nothing to apologize for, in his mind.

The Virginia congressman says it shouldn’t take a PhD to see what’s wrong with how his own party is handling the health care situation.  He also discusses the importance of civics classes, if Paul Ryan is a conservative and his take on "fake news."

The New York congressman discusses his experience coming to the United States as a nine-year-old boy, his take on fellow New Yorker President Donald Trump, his love for foreign affairs and more.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff sits down with Isaac Dovere to discuss the country's most pressing security concerns, how to be prepared for the unexpected, his experiences with 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, and how he thinks the Trump administration is holding up. 

The former Democratic National Committee Interim Chair Donna Brazile sits down with Isaac Dovere in the midst of the election in Atlanta. Brazile opens up about the toll the 2016 election hacks took on her personally, how her good rapport with Donald Trump turned sour and addresses the CNN flap.

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez discusses his fight to become the new chair of the Democratic National Party and the many mistakes made in the 2016 presidential election. Perez discusses the upcoming election to lead a party on the mend, the milestones reached under President Obama which are on their way to the chopping block under President Trump and the desperate need to redefine the mission of a faltering political party.

ABC's Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl has a front row to the Trump White House. And despite what the president has said about the "unfair media", Karl says this administration has been incredibly accessible and open. He also says reporters can fall victim to groupthink and get caught up in thinking about traditions Trump is breaking more than thinking about why the traditions were there in the first place.