Trump called him ‘my African-American.’ His life hasn’t been the same since – By John Blake (CNN) / Sept 12 2020
(CNN)If Gregory Cheadle had not cracked a joke, his life would be a lot less complicated today.
His troubles began when he attended a rally by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Redding, California, in June 2016. Cheadle was a California congressional candidate at the time, and he stood out as a Black Republican.
As Cheadle watched from the VIP section of the overwhelmingly white crowd, Trump went into an extended riff about a Black supporter who had assaulted an anti-Trump protester at an Arizona rally. Trump wondered aloud where his supporter was when Cheadle decided to play along and shouted, “I’m here!”
“Oh, look at my African-American over here,” Trump responded with a smile, pointing at Cheadle as some people in the crowd cheered. “Look at him. Are you the greatest?”
Cheadle laughed along with everyone else, but that soon changed. He left the rally early, took a nap at a friend’s house, and by the time he woke up, he had gone viral.
Continue to article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/12/politics/trump-my-african-american-cheadle-rally-blake/index.html
