The Daily Show: Ears Edition - The Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action

Episode Date: June 30, 2023

The Supreme Court ends affirmative action in higher education and Jordan Klepper and Roy Wood Jr. weigh in on the discrimination of white people. Later, Former President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Sherrilyn Ifill discusses how the current Supreme Court affirmative action case is different from previous ones. And, as dozens of wealthy parents stand accused of bribing their kids' way into college, Michael Kosta makes the case for an affirmative action policy for dumb rich kids.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. While the president is making it harder for people to enter the U.S., his Confederate house elf, Jeff Sessions, is planning to make life easier for certain Americans who are already here. The New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department is planning to take on affirmative action in college admissions. The Justice Department is working on a plan to investigate and potentially sue universities for admission policies that are found to discriminate against white applicants.

Finally! You know how many times I go to colleges in America and say, hey, where's all the white people? If American colleges were any white or John Snow would build a wall to protect us from them. They're all coming. So many of them. They've got magic and hacky sacks. Now, if you're confused about why this is happening, welcome to the club. Jeff Sessions and his Justice Department have decided to get serious about racism against white people, which I didn't think was a priority, but apparently it is.

Because according to one poll, 54% or more than half of Trump supporters think white people face more discrimination than black people. No, no, no, no, look, I know a lot of white people have real problems. But to hear them saying, you know, us whites have it worse than black people. It's like, where? In the sun? Like, where? It's almost like when rich people complain about their financial problems.

Do you know how high the taxes on my summer home are? Wait, you have a house for one season? Yeah, I need a house to get away from my house. What? You don't have a second house? I don't even have a house. You're so lucky, goddame it. This is just madness. And the news of the Justice Department going after affirmative action in America, universities, is bound to be a big issue. So, to get more perspective on it, we turn out to Roywood wo th, Roy wood th, th, th, th, th, to get more perspective on it, we turn now to Roywood Jr. and Jordan Klepper, everybody. Oh, let's get straight into it. Roy, let's start with you. Now, why do you think... Whoa, whoa.

Whoa, whoa, why do we have to start with Roy? You see, it's happening right now. This is just another example of the subtle bias we white people face every single day. Oh man, here we go. Oh no, don't here we go me, Trevor. Oh, Trevor, you wound him up me either. For way too long, white people have lived as second class citizens. Let me ask you a question. Since Obama, how many white presidents have there been? One. And look at our culture, just this year.

A black movie literally pried the Oscar out of the hands of a white movie. A movie that had the guts to tell the story about how Ryan Gosling invented jazz. Jordan, Jordan, I'm sorry, man. The numbers show that there is still a huge opportunity gap between black people and white people. A black man's median income is $14,000 less than the white man's. In schooling, 34% of white people complete high education, while that's only true for 20% of black people. Trevor, numbers aren't the point. 12%.

Fifty to 5 degrees, 4 inches. Great, we all have numbers. But I've lived discrimination. Did you know that I did not get into Western Michigan University? You want to know why? Was it because my grades were bad? Or I didn't do the essay portion of the SATs? Or because I didn't technically apply, or was it because of this? Your lady wrists? Don't you dare gender my wrists? It was because of the color of my skin. Trevor, just because I read at a seventh grade level, doesn't mean I can't read between the lines. I even see it in the workplace.

Right, how many times have you covered black issues on this show? All the time, I did a black Twitter, th. th. th. th. the th. the th. th. the th. th. th. the the th. the th. the th. th. the th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. thi. the the the the thi. Your their, their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your their, your, your their, your, your, your, your, your their. Your, your their. Your their. Your their. Your th. Your th. Your th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. t. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. today, th. th. their, to. the lines. I even see it in the workplace. Roy, how many times have you covered black issues on this show? All the time. I did black Twitter, black people in porn, black people in Congress. See, Trevor? You're gonna tell me I'm not an expert on black porn? Why? I don't want to know what you know about black porn. But Roy does these pieces because he's lived the black experience. Ever I've also lived then the black then then then then then then then th. I th. I th. I don't th. I don't th th. I don't th. I don't th. I don't th. I don't th. I don't th. I don't tho tho tho' tho' thi. I don't tho' th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I tho' th. I th. I th. I the. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. to to to to to to to to to toeeeanan toea toea toea toea toea toeea thea thea theea thee he's lived the black experience. Forever, I've also lived the black experience. You think I don't know hip hop? I ain't saying she's a gold digger, but she ain't messing with the brood. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Whoa. That's not your word. Okay, you see? You see? How is that not our word? We came up with that word. Talk about appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri appropri. that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, I I I I I I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that's that's that's that's that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that not our word? We came up with that word. Talk about appropriation, huh? You stole it from us. All right, Jordan, before you make it impossible for me to be a black friend, I'm gonna stop you right there.

Roy, Roy, what do you make of the Justice Department suing universities for discriminating against white people? I'm like Jordan. I agree with Jeff Sessions. Yeah, wait, wait, what? Yeah, if white people are being discriminated against, we got to look into this injustice. Amen. People being blot from getting into colleges just because of the color of their skin cannot be tolerated in America. Preach. I hope it turns class action. I hope Sessions slaps them colleges like a strip of booty and VIP. Wow! anyone has been discriminated against, Jeff Sessions and his justice department need to go in and seek compensation for those victims.

Yeah, cut the jack. And it's not just enough, it's not just enough to write the wrongs of today. We've got to go back. Sure. We've got to go way back. Maybe not way back. I'm talking hundreds of years. Maybe 10 years back. And I agree with Jordan Klepper, reparations for all victims of discrimination. Okay. That's what you meant, everybody. That's not what exactly we were talking about, okay?

Screw you guys. That's why I get my own show. Roywood Junior,, Joan Clepa, everybody. We'll be right back. You don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you know, that's the guest tonight is the former president of the NWACP Legal Defense Fund. Please welcome Cheryl and Eiffel. It's so lovely to have you here. It's wonderful to be here. Thank you. Thank you.

I'm so happy to have here. Right now, the Supreme Court, they're here in a case about affirmative action in college. This keeps coming up over and over again. Why do you think, you know, we're still having this battle? Yeah, it's quite interesting. You know, uh, so I'm a litigator and most litigator's, thiiiii-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-t, thi-t, thi-t, thi-t, thi-t, thi-t, thi-t, thi-t, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that, thi, thi, that, th-t, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th-I, thi, thi, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, than, th still having this battle? Yeah it's quite interesting you know so I'm a litigator and and most litigators lawyers know that if you're going to take a case up to the Supreme Court you're bound by precedent if the Supreme Court has decided that issue before and has decided it one way it's very hard to get the court to reverse courts. It happens but it's hard to do and you have to really have a reason for why the you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th th th th th th th th th th to to to to to to to th to to to th thi to to th. to to th. to th. thi thi. to thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. to to the. to to to the. to to the. to thi. the. thi. thi. thi. the. to do. And you have to really have a reason for why you think at this moment,

the court should reverse course. But this court has been doing it quite a bit at a brisk clip. Yes. And obviously, we know the Dobbs decision, overturned Roe versus Wade, a 50-year-old decision, thrown a affirmative action, th I mean, it's not as though the court is not deciding affirmative action over and over again. This is like, you know, you just keep going to, you get the court you want. In 1979 in the Bocke case, affirmative action in college admissions was challenged and upheld.

It was upheld again then in the Grutter case out of University of Michigan. Then in 2016 again, in the Fisher case, University of Texas. And after the University of Texas lost, the man who has been behind this whole effort basically said, using a kind of a clue from the dissent of Justices Thomas and Alito, I think I need Asian-American plaintiffs. And he said about crafting a set of claims that race conscious admissions is actually discriminatory against Asian Americans.

And that's the claim that he had brought in Harvard, at Harvard. And that's the case that's now before the Supreme Court. But should the Supreme Court be hearing this again when they just heard it in 2016 and before that just heard it in 2002 and before that just, you know, but it's a new court, right? And so basically you have somebody who keeps coming back and now they have the court they want. Okay, but this scares me about the court though.

The court that we have now, right? I mean, it's, the Supreme Court has really been our only recourse for justice. I mean, pretty much everything that we've gotten as far as rights, right? It's been based on a decision from the Supreme Court. Now, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the the the the the the court the court the the court the court, the court, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, the th, th, th, th, th, their, thi, their, their, their, that, the that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, rule has been overturned. What do we do now? How do we get past this court? Well, I think actually it's a sobering moment for us to recognize that, although I think many of us grew up in a period of time where we believe that, it's in fact not true. It is true that the court decided Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal apartheid in this country and really changed, and the American, other civil rights decisions from the court that have been wonderful.

Most of them have not been wonderful actually in the history of the United States Supreme Court. And so we've always had to supplement it with lestant with legislative action, with legislative action, with the civil rights act of 1964, with the voting rights act of 1965, with the Fair Housing Act of 1968. We've had to supplement it with the thaug-axxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, th. I, th. I, the, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, tho, the, the, the, tho, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, tho, tho, tho, tho, thoe, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, thea, thea, thea, thea, toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo've had to supplement it with education. We've had to supplement it in all kinds of ways. And so it's always been a multi-pronged strategy. The problem we have now though is that the court seems bent on dismantling the successes we make in those other realms. And so we see that with, for example, the Voting Rights

Act, which has been severely weakened, you know, by this Supreme Court. That's where we have to really start to get worried. And it is a real problem. It is not something to be taken lightly, and it's not just a partisan battle, as many people think. I've been a civil rights lawyer for 30 years. You win some and you lose some. The rule of law is that you abide by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by by the the the the the the the the the their by what by what by what by what by what by what by what by what by what by what by the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the., the. the the the the thea. thea. thea. too. too. too. too. toe. the the the the the the the court says and does, but you do that with the knowledge that the court is behaving fairly and with integrity and legitimately. And when you start feeling like decisions are being made without the proper foundation,

then it gets very hard to convince your clients that it's a fair system. And so I think we are in a kind of perilous moment as it relates to the court. Before you go, I know, you said something I want to get to, that you said our democracy, it's like a teen, we're teenagers, just, we're young, it's like teenagers, so what, democracy is what, staying up all night on Snapchat and something.

Well, I mean, you know, I mean, yes, like teenagers who think they know everything, who have a grandiose sense of themselves, who throw tantrums. Yes, we are. I mean, if you think about American democracy, at least for me, I wouldn't count America as a democracy, as certainly as a nation, but not as a democracy until at least 1954 when Brown was decided. Because you can't call a country a democracy if by law, if by law a whole segment of citizens can be denied the right to participate in the political system. So that's just and that's being pretty

generous, that's 1954, I would take it to 1965 with the Voting Rights Act because before the passage of the Voting Rights Act, even though the right of black people should have been guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution enacted and ratified after the Civil War, most black people then lived in the South and still live in the South, and most of the South was denying the vote to black people. So until 1965, I wouldn't call us even credibly a democracy. And if you think of it that way, then we are young. And so we're still figuring this thing out, and I'd say wanted us to give people hope.

Please, give me some hope. Please, give you some hope. Please, Cerell and give you some hope. We're also trying to do something that no other country has done. There is no template for the kind of multiracial democracy with the kind of history of white supremacy and slavery. There's no other country that's trying to do that in the dynamic way that we are doing it.

We talk about being a nation of immigrants, which is not entirely true, but immigration is a huge part of the character of our country, and 20th century immigration for sure, the country have the cast that it does and so we're trying to create something we're not trying to do something like another country we're not pointing to them and saying oh yeah like that we're trying to do something very particular and it's hard and that's what I'm currently writing a book about it's called is this America and it is about race, but it is also about what I think of at this moment as the last

best chance for us to really create a healthy democracy in this country. Okay, well when you finish your book, I will be here but I'm sure they'll bring you back and there'll be a nice white guy sitting here. Okay, thank you so much and we'll be right back after this. Theen. American universities all around the world. They're known as some of the most prestigious institutions of learning. And so to get into them, you have to work hard. You have to volunteer, you have to play sports. You have to get super high grades.

Or you can just have shady rich parents. Federal prosecutors today revealed what they say is the largest case of college admissions fraud in US history. Charging coaches and affluent parents, including Hollywood elite in a massive bribery scheme to fast-track kids into some of the country's top universities, including Yale and Stanford. All told the 33 people named in the indictment paid an alleged $25 million in bribes. Those kids' parents now facing jail time include real estate moguls, wine vineyard owners, entrepreneurs like trend expert Jane Buckingham, who posted this inspiring Instagram message last spring.

Don't cheat, it reads. Yeah, yeah, don't cheat because I'm cheating. And if we all start cheating, then it's fair game. So what even is the point? For more on this college admission scandal, we're joined now by a man who spends most of his time on college campuses, Michael Costa everybody! As a college expert, I would love to know what are your thoughts? Yeah, well, Trevor, this is the biggest college scandal since I was kicked off my acapella team for quote-unquote bringing a gun to rehearsal. They love their rules. But I'll tell you what, the whole thing just makes it clear to rehearsal. They love their rules.

But I'll tell you what, the whole thing just makes it clear to me that we need affirmative action. Yeah, you know what I agree, Michael, we need affirmative action because that would help minority students compete against these well-connected families. No, no, no, no, you moron. I mean we need affirmative action for dumb rich kids. Because if we stop letting wealthy parents bribe colleges, then their kids won't be able to get in. And dumb rich kids are just as important to campus diversity as any other minority. Sure, black and Asian students add new perspectives, but without Spencer the Trust Fund baby, who's going to ride a wheelchair off Sigma Kai's roof,

screaming lines from Anchor Man? Without dumb rich kids, who's going to teach me how to soak a tampon and vodka and put it up my ass so I can get drunk without having vodka breath? So Michael, you approve of what these parents did? Yeah, but not in the way they were doing it. Secretly bribing colleges is despicable. They should be openly bribing these schools. Like, build a library and put their name on it.

Then we all know who the dumb rich kids are. If Thatcher Worthington is going to class at Worthington Hall, everyone knows in that class not to work with him in a group assignment. And when we all know who the dumb kids are, we can can can can can can can can can their their their their their their their their their their their their to their to their their work with him in a group assignment. And when we all know who the dumb kids are, we can funnel them to jobs where they can't hurt anybody, like brand management or real estate or who are those people that instruct you through yoga? A yoga instructor? Wow, Professor Brainiac over here, huh? The point is, if parents are bribing people in secret, then we don't know who the dumb kids are,

and we might end up letting them be engineers or doctors. Like, could you imagine if you got heart surgery from Donald Trump Jr? He'd probably get mixed up and put a can of axe body spray in there. Yeah, but, but, but Costa, I hear what you're saying, but shouldn't we be trying to fix the overall system? Shouldn't people get into college based on merits alone? Trevor, our forefathers fought hard for a just and equal society and I would love to talk about the American Dream with you, but I gotta go, that that vodka tampon is kicking in, so thanks for the tips, Vince. You my dog, buddy. Michael Costa, everyone! Woo! Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show, wherever

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