MSNBC Analyst Says Clarence Thomas Got On The Bench Because Of Race-Based Admissions Policies

An MSNBC analyst said Thursday that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas get on the bench because of race-based admission policies moments after the Supreme Court ruled affirmative action is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that affirmative action is unconstitutional in two lawsuits brought against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The cases challenged the universities’ use of racial preferences during the admissions process.

“How have these other states that have already banned affirmative action programs implemented that? I think that could provide a road perhaps for the rest of the country. I mean, is there an alternative that some states that you know of have been able to —?” host Ana Cabrera asked.

“How do you diversify without taking race into account? What are you diversifying? Are you diversifying people’s income? Clarence Thomas, you know, he has criticized affirmative action. That’s how — that’s one of the reasons why he graduated from Yale and we know that’s one of the reasons why he’s on the Supreme Court. So someone like —” MSNBC legal analyst Catherine Christian said.

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“Isn’t part of his argument you’re not giving enough credit to people of color? They can accomplish what it is you’re saying affirmative action is intended to help accomplish,” Cabrera cut in.

“The problem with that argument is the issue is not the credit being given to people of color, the issue is on the decision-maker’s side. That’s the problem. The problem is never about whether people are qualified. The issue is whether those qualifications are going to be judged properly by people who are making decisions in such a way that is going to allow the continued access to these spaces by people who have been historically denied them,” civil rights attorney Charles Coleman chimed in. (RELATED: ‘They’re Being Punished For Hard Work’: Leo Terrell Sounds Off On Affirmative Action)

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” Roberts wrote. “In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experience as an individual – not on the basis of race.”

“Many universities have for too long done just the opposite,” he continued. “And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”