Will Trump have appointed a majority of the Supreme Court by year’s end?

Early in his Supreme Court tenure, Justice Clarence Thomas, who joined the court in 1991, reportedly said he wanted to stay on until 2034. The reason, according to a 1993 New York Times report citing one of his clerks: “The liberals made my life miserable for 43 years, and I’m going to make their lives miserable for 43 years.”

This Video Is Trending Right Now →

Fast-forward to this week, when Thomas, 77, said at a public appearance in Texas, “I don’t count the number of years I’m on the court.”

He made that remark Wednesday during the Q&A session that followed a speech he gave at the state’s university at Austin, tied to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

During his speech, an excerpt of which The Wall Street Journal’s opinion page headlined, “Justice Thomas: Progressives vs. the Declaration,” the George H.W. Bush appointee bemoaned what he saw as a modern betrayal of founding-era ideals. He also gave a shoutout to attendees, including Harlan Crow, whose undisclosed gifts to the justice raised an ethical scandal for him and the court.

The justice’s rosier view of the past extended to his own service on the court as well. During the Q&A portion, in response to a question about the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Thomas said he “loved working with him. I loved working with that court. That court that was together 11 years was my favorite. It was a wonderful time.” Thomas made a similar comment in public remarks last year, saying he “came of age with that court.”