MSNBC’s Joy Reid Labels Justice Clarence Thomas ‘Uncle Clarence’
MSNBC contributor Joy Reid referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as “Uncle Clarence,” invoking a racial slur during an early-Wednesday panel on the election.
The panel, led by anchor Rachel Maddow, was discussing the possibility that legal challenges to vote counts in crucial swing states would end up in the Supreme Court. Republican senators managed to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court last week, cementing a 6-3 majority of conservative justices.
If “somehow” vote counts are legally challenged and cases “end up in the Supreme Court, do any of you guys trust uncle Clarence and Amy Coney Barrett and those guys to actually follow the letter of the law? No!” Reid said, repurposing the “Uncle Tom” slur against Justice Thomas. “I mean, it is a completely politicized Supreme Court, [and] you can’t just trust that they’re going to do the right thing.”
Reid has a history of controversial remarks, including homophobic statements and supporting 9/11 conspiracy theories. In September, Reid also lashed out at Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron by saying he put his party before his identity as a black man.
“You have to always look at [political] party,” Reid said. “Party is the religion now in America, especially for Republicans. Don’t look at the fact that this guy is black. That does not mean anything. He is a Republican, through and through.”
