Justice Clarence Thomas has shed new light on his early relationship with fellow Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during a rare public interview.
Thomas sat down with Senator Ted Cruz on his “Verdict” podcast, where the two discussed a range of topics including his time at Yale Law School.
The conversation turned to Thomas’s relationship with Alito, with whom he overlapped at Yale for two years without ever forming a friendship.
Thomas recalled that he eventually confronted Alito about the curious gap in their connection during their time at one of America’s most prestigious law schools.
“So I said, ‘Sam, how come we were there two years together? Why weren’t we friends?'” Thomas recounted during the interview with Cruz.
The answer Alito reportedly gave was both candid and striking, cutting to the heart of how Thomas presented himself during his law school years.
“‘Clarence, you were scary,'” Thomas said, relaying Alito’s explanation for why the two had never connected during their overlapping time at Yale.
Thomas’s appearance at Yale was apparently far from conventional for a future member of the nation’s highest court, which may have contributed to Alito’s reaction.
He reportedly wore bib overalls and combat boots around the Yale campus, cutting an unconventional figure in the corridors of one of America’s elite legal institutions.
The anecdote offers a rare and candid glimpse into the personal dynamics between two justices who would go on to become among the most prominent conservative voices on the Supreme Court.
Both Thomas and Alito have served together on the bench for years, making the revelation of their awkward law school non-relationship a curious footnote in American legal history.
The Cruz podcast interview represents one of the more unusual platforms for a sitting Supreme Court justice to discuss personal history and collegiate memories in recent years.
Thomas is known for rarely giving media interviews, making his appearance on “Verdict” and his willingness to share personal anecdotes about Alito particularly noteworthy.
The exchange has drawn attention online, with many noting the irony of Alito, one of the court’s most forceful and sometimes combative voices, once being intimidated by a colleague.