Guy at Trump Rally: I'm His 'African American'

Gregory Cheadle says he didn't mind a bit when Donald Trump called him "my African American over there." In fact, he tells the Redding Spotlight, he was happy about it. Cheadle was at a sweltering Trump rally in Northern California on Friday when the presumptive GOP nominee mentioned a black supporter who had "slugged" protesters dressed as KKK members in Arizona in March, the New York Times reports. "We had a case where we had an African-American guy who is a fan of mine," Trump said at Friday's rally. "In fact I want to find out what’s going on with him. Oh look at my African-American over here. Are you the greatest? Do you know what I’m talking about?"

Cheadle, a Republican running for a congressional seat in the area, used the moment to get Trump's attention as the candidate greeted supporters afterward. "I was at the point he was about to leave and I called out, 'Uncle Donald, Uncle Donald,'" says Cheadle. "He recognized me as the guy he had called out." He and Trump shared a few words, and Cheadle got his sign autographed. "To give the black folk the time of the day, I was happy," says Cheadle. "I got two autographs out of that." Trump's remarks come just after he criticized Gonzalo Curiel, a judge handling a case involving Trump University, and mentioned Curiel's ethnic background. Curiel "happens to be, we believe, Mexican," said Trump. (Curiel was born in the US and is of Mexican descent.)