Clock It with Symone & Eugene

Trump says he was the first person to think ICE agents would help with the interminable lines around the country. “That was like the paperclip,” he said, standing on a tarmac in West Palm Beach on Monday. “You know the story of the paperclip? 182 years ago, a man discovered the paperclip. It was so simple and everybody that looked at it [would] say, why didn't I think of that?” And Eugene points out that no one else thought of it because it’s a terrible idea. He and Symone also call the war in Iran “a choice,” and look at the small percentage of Americans (it’s 1%) that stands to benefit from that choice. “This  is a wealth transfer that is hiding in a gas price,” says Symone, referring to a study of the 2022 oil shock  – caused by Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine – that showed the net income of publicly listed oil and gas companies tripled the last time oil cost as much as it does now. Then social media star Harry Sisson joins to talk the difference in standards between traditional media and creators, cynicism, and faith in the American people.

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Symone and Eugene observe the fallout of war in the Middle East, which has widened to include Iran’s soccer team, the price of gas all over the world, and the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Then Sam Sanders joins to talk about Oscars wins and merger losses. He argues that we’ll remember last weekend’s Academy Awards – when interesting movies like “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” won big – as the end of an era. “The version of Hollywood that we are walking into will be much less likely to actually green light those kind of films,” says Sam. And he places the blame for our more boring future at the feet of … the billionaires. “The question,” asks Sam, “is are we going to have people in charge of this stuff who choose to spend money on folks who aren't from central casting?”

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As the war in Iran extends into week two, the White House is turning the deadly fighting into a meme, while the president and Marco Rubio eye their next target: Cuba. And after being arrested for covering an ICE protest in Minnesota, Don Lemon comes on the show and gets real about his legal battle with the Department of Justice. The independent journalist and former CNN anchor has been called a “sleazebag” by the President of the United States. But he remains undeterred. He reminds us that the First Amendment is the “bedrock of our constitution,” and at the end of the day he believes he will have the last word.

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"You don't talk to me for hope," she says. But we found a little bit. First, Ayman Mohyeldin stops by to break down how he’s watching the news out of Iran, and what he sees in the chaotic conclusion to the Democratic primary for a Senate seat in Texas. In our guest segment – the groupchat – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of “The 1619 Project” Nikole Hannah-Jones warns us that we have entered a second Nadir, a period when progress toward democracy is being rolled back. And returning to an era of Civil Rights enforcement is not a short-term struggle. But, she says, in the words of Coretta Scott King: “Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.” And now, Nikole says, it’s our turn to earn it.

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Trump’s 2026 State of the Union was … one for the record books. Literally. In the longest State of the Union address in history – something the president is no doubt proud of – Trump continued to declare that America is  bigger, better, richer, hotter, and stronger than ever before. Marc Lamont Hill joins Symone and Eugene to discuss how that could be possible when the price of beef, orange juice, and rent is up, and when Americans are looking down the barrel at losing their voting rights. Symone and Eugene also apologize to Vini Jr. – on others’ behalf – ask how FBI Director Kash Patel rationalizes taking a government Gulfstream to the Olympics after he repeatedly criticized his predecessor for similar behavior, and call out the BAFTAs for shoving Delroy Lindo, Michael B. Jordan, and a Tourette’s activist into a spotlight not a single soul asked for.

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