Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, found himself in a heated debate with the co-hosts of ABC's "The View" on Wednesday, defending Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's position on affirmative action. The discussion, prompted by Cruz's new book "The Incomparable Clarence Thomas," focused on Thomas's perspective that affirmative action diminishes achievements.
Co-host Sunny Hostin questioned Cruz about the framing of Thomas's experience, stating that affirmative action was intended to provide opportunities to qualified Black students, like Thomas, who were historically denied access to institutions. "So what I don’t understand how you handle in the book is, why is the lesson from his experience that we should eliminate the remedy rather than eliminate the racism that made the remedy necessary?" Hostin asked.
Cruz countered that affirmative action is a broad concept. He explained that while he and Thomas support removing barriers and expanding access, they oppose quotas and discrimination based on race, principles he stated Thomas has consistently defended. Hostin pressed further, asking why Thomas felt his Yale Law degree was "diminished because people felt that it was a result of affirmative action."
"So there was a reason for that," Cruz responded. "When he came out of Yale Law School, he had done very well in law school. He applied. Not a single law firm would hire him. Every law firm he interviewed said, ‘No.’"
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg interjected with "Welcome to being Black," suggesting systemic racism played a role in Thomas's early career struggles. Goldberg questioned how Thomas, as a constitutional scholar, could not recall a time when Black people were not fully included or afforded equal standing, pointing to historical inequalities.
Cruz cited the Civil War and Reconstruction amendments, including the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which he argued were enacted to end slavery, protect equal protection, and secure voting rights for African Americans. Goldberg responded by questioning why affirmative action remained a topic if these protections were in place, before the show ran out of time.
Earlier in the program, Goldberg addressed audience groans upon Cruz's introduction, urging respectful engagement with guests, even those with differing viewpoints. "This is a place where Barbara Walters made sure that anybody who wanted to come and have a good conversation could come," she said. "So we want people to come, and we want to engage them. We don’t agree with them always. We don’t jell with them always, but we are respectful, and I know you will be too."