ABC host Jonathan Karl grilled former Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican presidential candidate, about his views on Affirmative Action after the U.S. Supreme Court said that race could not be used as a factor in college admissions.
"I understand you fully support this decision, but if the end result is that America's most selective colleges and universities have fewer black and Hispanic students, is that a problem for America?" Karl asked the candidate in an interview that aired on Sunday.
"Well, look, I think I couldn't be more proud of the progress we've made toward a more perfect union in my lifetime," Pence opined. "And I really believe that the decision by the Supreme Court today was an acknowledgment of the incredible progress that minority Americans have made. Their extraordinary educational achievements. And I have every confidence that African-Americans and other minority Americans are going to continue to compete and succeed in universities around the country."
Pence pointed to Black American leaders like former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"But respectfully, you didn't answer my question," Karl pressed. "We've seen what has happened in nine states that have banned Affirmative Action."
"So again, my question to you, if that is the result here, is that a concern?" the host asked.
"I don't know the numbers," Pence admitted. "And I'm just very confident with the progress that we have made now in 2023, a fourth of the way through the 21st century, the achievements of African Americans, leaving aside the achievements of the first African American president and African Americans all across the country. I'm just very confident that African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and other minorities are going to be able to compete and succeed."
The former vice president also struggled to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his defense.
"But we're going to be able to do it with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision in place that will be judged not by the content — or judged by not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character and by our own academic performance."
