Though more and more lavish, undisclosed “gifts” to Clarence Thomas are surfacing seemingly each week, some lawmakers believe that the Supreme Court justice is only drawing backlash because he’s a Black man. “The View” host Sunny Hostin had a good chuckle at that idea on Friday’s episode.
In early April, Propublica reported that Thomas has been treated to expensive luxury vacations by close friend and Texas billionaire Harlan Crow, but never reported them on financial disclosures. A few weeks later, it was revealed that Thomas made more than $130,000 when he sold several properties to Crow in 2014 – including the house Thomas’ mother currently lives in – far in excess of their market value.
Most recently, it was revealed that Crow has also apparently been paying the tuition of Thomas’ nephew, which is more than $60,000 a year. Also not disclosed on Thomas’ financial records.
Though this money adds up quickly, and many worry Thomas has effectively been bribed by a Republican donor, Republican lawmakers disagree, saying racism is actually what’s fueling this controversy. Senator John Cornyn recently said that Thomas has “obviously been targeted, because he’s a conservative Black man.”
Watching that clip on Friday’s episode of “The View,” Sunny Hostin was a bit gobsmacked.
“They use the Black card more than I do,” she joked, earning a huge laugh from Joy Behar and the audience.
Speaking more seriously on the claim of racism though, Hostin admitted she’s worried about the damage it could do.
“It’s just not true,” she said. “And I think the worst part of the fact that they’re using the Black card in that way is that it lessens the real degradation when it happens to African-Americans in this country. And so I think that’s, you know, that’s just smoke and mirrors.”
You can watch the full segment from “The View” in the video above.