Cornel West Gives Clarence Thomas' Friend His Money Back

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has given campaign money back to Harlan Crow, a conservative donor and friend to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, after receiving backlash.

West, a progressive philosopher, went on social media on Friday to announce that he will return Crow's $3,300 donation that was given to his 2024 election campaign in August.

"He is a staunch anti-Trump Republican who has 'Never Forget' collections of tyrants (Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and many others) and patriotic collections of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. Does this disqualify him from contributing to my campaign?" West said of Crow on X, formerly Twitter. "Most people holler yes, I say no. As a jazzman, I listened and decided to give the money back to brother Harlan—but still state the truth!"

West compared the "minor scandal" of Crow's donation to that of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying that people tend to believe perceptions over the truth. "How sad that perceptions so quickly triumph over truth in our decadent culture. This holds in our major catastrophe in the Middle East where the rich humanity of Palestinians is rendered invisible. It also holds at home in the minor scandal about Harlan Crow's donation to my campaign," West said in his post.

The philosopher was referring to events that unfolded after Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history on October 7. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Over 1,400 people in Israel have been killed as of Friday, the Associated Press reported. While 4,137 Palestinians have died, according to officials in Gaza, the AP said.

Crow donated the maximum amount allowed over the summer, two months after West joined the race to the White House in June and right before he moved from the Green Party ballot to an independent. Critics saw the donation from a Republican backer as a betrayal of West's more progressive views.

In a post from Thursday, West initially stood his ground saying: "I am unbought and unbossed." He wrote on X, in part: "Despite my deep political differences with brother Harlan Crow (who is an anti-Trump Republican), I've known him in a non-political setting for some years and I pray for his precious family. I find it hypocritical for those who highlight his $3300 donation to my campaign but can't say a mumbling word about the PAC-driven billion dollars to support the genocidal attack in Gaza sponsored by their candidate!"

However, people on social media did not seem to believe what West was preaching. X user Joel Keith replied to West's post: "Kind of hard to believe that Harlan Crow is anti-Trump. He is certainly pro-Clarence Thomas... who is most certainly pro-Trump. Something's not adding up there." Another critic, Travis Akers, commented: "Imagine selling your legacy for $3,300." While Alexander Boyd replied: "You are full of it! You could have turned down that money."

In a recent MSNBC article, journalist Ja'han Jones shared his suspicions that West's candidacy is just a "conservative-backed ploy to aid Donald Trump's campaign by attempting to draw liberal votes from President Joe Biden," while also pointing out Crow's relationship to Justice Thomas, who tends to vote conservatively in cases brought to the Supreme Court.

The friendship between Crow and Thomas dates back to the 1990s. Last May, ProPublica revealed that Thomas, who has served on the court since 1991, received undisclosed gifts from Crow, including luxury vacations and a paid private school tuition for his grandnephew. Crow subsequently told The Atlantic that it was "kind of weird to think that if you're a justice on the Supreme Court, you can't have friends."

Newsweek reached out to Cornel West on his website and Harlan Crow's company Crow Holdings via email for comment on Friday.