Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) cautiously supported his fellow Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.) when asked if he believes United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is an “Uncle Tom,” saying he has been “very disappointed” in the Thomas, but didn’t know if he warranted the label.
Clyburn discussed recent comments made by his colleague — in which Thompson called Thomas an “Uncle Tom” — during an appearance Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“All of us have ways of expressing our disappointments,” Clyburn said. “I am very disappointed in Clarence Thomas.”
“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough asked the South Carolina Democrat if he, too, thought Thomas was an “Uncle Tom,” to which he responded that he didn’t know.
“Well, he’s not the only Supreme Court justice there,” Clyburn said when Scarborough pushed him. “We have nine of them.”
Though it’s not entirely clear what he meant by bringing up the other justices, Clyburn said that while Thompson is “a very close personal friend, we don’t always use the same words and phrases.”
While the South Carolinian wouldn’t outright admit he thinks Thomas is an “Uncle Tom,” Thompson doubled down on his comments during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash earlier this week.
“Well, if you look at his decisions on the court, they have been adverse to the minority community, and the people I represent have a real issue with an African-American not being sensitive to those issues,” he said.
