Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas discussed the challenges he faced from those who expected him to adopt liberal political views solely because he is Black. The comments came during an appearance on Sen. Ted Cruz's podcast "Verdict with Ted Cruz," recorded in connection with the senator's new book on the justice.

Thomas, 78, recounted arriving in Washington and encountering assumptions about how he should think. "When I came to this town, one of the greatest difficulties, if you think about it, was that there were those who thought that I should think a certain way," he said.

The interview highlights Thomas's long-standing resistance to such pressures as one of the court's most prominent conservative justices. Cruz released his book "Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas" on Tuesday, drawing from extensive conversations with the justice.

Thomas has served on the Supreme Court since 1991 and is its second Black justice. He has frequently addressed similar themes in speeches and writings over the years, emphasizing individual thought over group expectations.