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MS NOW's Jen Psaki kicked off Wednesday evening's edition of "The Briefing" with a look at how President Donald Trump's allies are spending his $400 million war chest during a time of crisis for Republicans in Congress.

"Let's be honest here. I mean, Donald Trump's options of what he can do to actually help Republicans in these midterm elections is kind of limited," said Psaki, noting that polls across the board show Trump and his policies are in the toilet. "But Trump does have one thing that could really, really help Republicans this cycle. Lots and lots of money."

A year into President Trump's campaign of military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, a group of retired Coast Guard officers says the operation isn't just legally dubious — it's "more troubling" than the administration lets on, and it isn't even working.

Writing in Just Security, retired Coast Guard officers Stephen Chamberlin, Leanne Lusk, and Brian McNamara argued the strikes represent something far more troubling than officials portray: an unlawful expansion of military force into what has always been a law enforcement job.

President Donald Trump detoured into a bizarre rant about an obese "friend" while speaking at a dinner event he was holding at the Rose Garden on Wednesday.

"A friend of mine is a very obese person," said Trump. "I said, you're an extremely obese person. He's begging me not to mention his name because I'll destroy his reputation. He had some fat drugs. I said: it's not working — you look like (expletive)."

President Donald Trump tried to hype up Texas GOP Senate nominee and state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a speech on Wednesday — but couldn't help but throw in jabs about his physical appearance.

"Ken Paxton, you might not like the way he dresses, and I say this, it's so insulting to him, but I might as well say it," said Trump. "You might not like the way he looks. You might not love his television interviews. But he was the best attorney general and that speaks a lot louder than the suit he's wearing that doesn't look so great or than anything, frankly."

CNN host Erin Burnett appeared stunned Wednesday after a defense expert warned that the U.S. military is falling dangerously behind in modern warfare under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, pointed to a recent military exercise in which Ukrainian forces overwhelmed a U.S. Army unit.