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- Hey y'all, it's Eugene Daniels. - And Simone Sanders Townsend. - We're the host of a brand new podcast. MSNOW presents Clockhead. - We're starting this show because over our years in DC, me on campaigns and working in the White House. - And me covering it all plus running the White House Corp. Association. - We've learned to see through political machinations and maneuvering, whatever that is, right Eugene? - Uh-huh, 'cause right now, we're watching the Trump administration try to legitimize itself by hijacking the arts, sports, basically the culture. - See, slapping Trump's name on the Kennedy Center, dispatching ice to the Super Bowl, uploading TikToks at the Nicki Minaj songs, it looks trivial, but this stuff matters. - So we want to open up our off-air conversations, our group chat, if you will, to everybody. - Every Thursday, we'll talk about what we see and hear in the news so you can start the clock at two. - Our first episode is out right now, and new episodes drop every Thursday. Subscribe to MSNOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to get the show air-free. Plus, you'll get an exclusive bonus episode as soon as this weekend. - And stay right here to get a preview of our first episode. Then search for "Clock It" and hit that follow button. - No States race though, I think, right about now is more interesting and more popping up in my group chat. Then what's going on in Texas and the Democratic primary between Conkelson and Jasmine Cross and State Representative. - James Salarico. - James Salarico. - The thing that I think is most interesting about this primary for Democrats is that the split and the party is no longer ideological, right? The actual split is whether you want to fight or not. And I think these two people show how different groups in the Democratic party want to fight, right? Like James Salarico. He's much more, you know, his demeaness commerce. - I got into this because of my students. I got into the classroom in the fall of 2011, right after the state legislature cut $5 billion from our schools. I had 45 kids in one classroom. There weren't enough desks for all those kids. So I had students sitting on the air conditioning unit. It's unacceptable. And that's why I ran for the state legislature. It's why I flipped a Trump district that no one thought was winnable. - And you have someone like Conkelson and Crockett and she is much more, I think like a lot of members of Congress that are Democrats, much more in your face. - They're killing people in the middle of the street. They decided to execute a mother of three and broad daylight. I don't understand how we are sitting here and acting like this is normal. - Right, she's much more clear and concise. She seems much more ready to fight Donald Trump. The way Donald Trump fights. - Someone called her unconventional. Some reports have called her and her campaign unconventional. This recently, recently, okay. There was a controversy that popped up on the internet. The fact that in 2026, campaigns are being and races are being appended by what happens on threads. - I don't know if and ticked out. I don't know if this was a scheme that Todd set up to encourage people to sign up for threads. Todd is busy chow, but if you weren't on threads, you were not understanding where this happened here, exactly. - So this is Texas-based Tiktok or Morgan Thompson. She said she met Tallariko and this is what she said. - Oh, fuck, it happened. - James Tallariko told me that he signed up to run against a mediocre black man, not a formidable and intelligent black woman calling already the mediocre black man that he's referring to. As an attorney, a former professional football player and a former congressman. - Up until this comment, the conversation was going well. That's why I threw me off so much to have a white man, say this to a black woman who was coming to him with concerns in relation to him for black people. - Ciao. - Now can I just say a lot of different conversations have sprouted out from this, but as a former comments person, I will say in this new media landscape where folks are making their candidates available to influencers, people, creators, people with platforms that have substantial social media followings, particularly in the state or the district that makes a difference. These are also not journalists. And this isn't a slight to Morgan. I'm not trying to slide her, but it was a private conversation after like, the creators don't understand off the record. - No, they do not. - So politicians take them off. - No, no, baby, look, if you start talking off the record. - They gon' tell. - And so she told about a private conversation she had and to be clear, his comments were problematic. - I will say this. His team, when they sent out the sort of apology whatever, what he said was, I did call him mediocre. I don't, it doesn't say. - He said he called his campaign mediocre. And I mean, to be very clear, Colin Aurep did not run a stellar Senate campaign. - He's no longer running for Senate, so to say. - Well, because Yasmin Crockett came in and kind of like, to be honest, big-good and out of the race. And they're work concerned. I mean, if you talk to Democrats and Texas, we do. - We do, yes. - And people that do campaign work, there was a concern about the kind of campaign Colin Aurep ran the last time he ran for Senate. And Democrats, when he lost, when he lost, and Democrats do believe that this is an opportunity, that this is one of the seats that they can take, like Chuck Schumer and Christian Jellabran and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, they are talking about expanding the map. So I just don't think it is ever okay though. Like, yeah, was his campaign, was he running a mediocre campaign? - Sure. - And white man, be talking about another elected official, and feel comfortable calling him a mediocre black man? No. And trying to pump up a black lady, hell no, no, no, crazy. - It makes no sense. - It makes no sense. (upbeat music) - Thanks for listening for more search, clock, and, and follow the show. (upbeat music)