Trump called him ‘my African American’ and upended his life
Gregory Cheadle lost his girlfriend, friends and his party after he was infamously tethered to Donald Trump at a rally
Gregory Cheadle couldn’t resist the urge to crack a joke at a rally in Redding, California back in June 2016 when Donald Trump was a presidential candidate.
Cheadle was a California congressional candidate at the time, and being a Black Republican, he was a rarity among the overwhelmingly white crowd that had shown up to support Trump.
As Cheadle watched from the VIP section, Trump launched into a long-winded spiel about a Black supporter who had assaulted an anti-Trump protester at an Arizona rally. When Trump asked the crowd where his supporter was Cheadle decided to play along and shouted, “I’m here!”
“Oh, look at my African American over here,” Trump cheerfully responded as he pointed at Cheadle. “Look at you. Are you the greatest?”
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The crowd laughed and cheered and Cheadle laughed along with everyone else. He left the rally early and took a nap at a friend’s house. By the time he awakened, the lighthearted banter he’d shared with Trump had gone viral.
According to CNN, his phone was filled with texts and voicemails from reporters that wanted to interview him. But there were also messages from disgruntled family and friends that wanted to know why he had allowed Trump to publicly degrade him. Both black and white people posted insulting remarks on his Facebook page, calling him “Uncle Tom” and the N-word and threatening to cause him bodily harm.
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Cheadle quickly discovered that the loneliest place in the world was reserved for a Black man who was considered himself a friend of Donald Trump’s.
Since that day, Cheadle’s life has changed completely. He lost friends, went into hiding, and even lost his girlfriend, a staunch Democrat who no longer wanted to be seen in public with him.
Today, Cheadle no longer supports President Trump and has lost respect for some Black conservatives.
Although he admits to being bothered by Trump telling four congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from, he refuses to call Trump racist.
Instead he says that Trump has a “white superiority complex.”
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