- Oct 17, 2011
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Nice complex portrait of the black (then-)Republican who Trump jokingly called out in the audience of one of his 2016 rallies.
"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.
...
Cheadle says he has since lost respect for some Black Republican conservatives. He compares them to ventriloquists' dolls -- puppets employed by powerful white people to mouth political platitudes that hurt Black people.
He also says he was deflated by how the Republican party reacted to the death of Herman Cain, a former Republican presidential candidate. Cain, who was Black, died after contracting coronavirus soon after attending a Trump rally without wearing a mask.
"It was sad that he died, but even more sad that he was not given any honor by the Republican Party," Cheadle says. "It was like, 'He's dead. No problem. Goodbye.'"
...
He is not an unusual character in the Black community. Virtually every major Black leader -- Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X and even Obama -- has blended conservative principles like self-help and economic empowerment with progressive ideas.
But Cheadle remains skeptical about the Democratic Party. He doesn't like Obamacare and didn't vote for Obama because he says Obama was an "elitist" who never did much for Black people. He doesn't think Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has done much for Black people, either.
...
Cheadle ending up moving from Northern California to Southern California after he lost his congressional bid. He then made another move. He left the Republican Party last year because of what he describes as its "pro-white agenda" and Trump's inflammatory racial rhetoric.
Cheadle says he was bothered by Trump's comments last year when he told four congresswomen of color to "go back" to where they came from. He also didn't like the fact that the overwhelming majority of Trump's cabinet and judicial appointments went to white men. "When you look at the White House, it really is a white house," he says.
But he refuses to call Trump a racist because the term is so loaded. Instead he says Trump has a "white superiority complex."
...
But he hasn't made another big decision -- who he's going to vote for in November. He calls himself undecided between Biden and Trump.
"You're asking me to choose between projectile vomit and diarrhea," he says.
Cheadle does like Biden's vice-presidential pick, Kamala Harris. She would be the first vice-president who is Black and South Asian. He believes Harris' race could make her more empathetic toward Black people.
"If I vote for Biden, it'll probably be because I'm voting for Harris," he says.
(see also a thread from last year, when he left the GOP)
"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.
...
Cheadle says he has since lost respect for some Black Republican conservatives. He compares them to ventriloquists' dolls -- puppets employed by powerful white people to mouth political platitudes that hurt Black people.
He also says he was deflated by how the Republican party reacted to the death of Herman Cain, a former Republican presidential candidate. Cain, who was Black, died after contracting coronavirus soon after attending a Trump rally without wearing a mask.
"It was sad that he died, but even more sad that he was not given any honor by the Republican Party," Cheadle says. "It was like, 'He's dead. No problem. Goodbye.'"
...
He is not an unusual character in the Black community. Virtually every major Black leader -- Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X and even Obama -- has blended conservative principles like self-help and economic empowerment with progressive ideas.
But Cheadle remains skeptical about the Democratic Party. He doesn't like Obamacare and didn't vote for Obama because he says Obama was an "elitist" who never did much for Black people. He doesn't think Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has done much for Black people, either.
...
Cheadle ending up moving from Northern California to Southern California after he lost his congressional bid. He then made another move. He left the Republican Party last year because of what he describes as its "pro-white agenda" and Trump's inflammatory racial rhetoric.
Cheadle says he was bothered by Trump's comments last year when he told four congresswomen of color to "go back" to where they came from. He also didn't like the fact that the overwhelming majority of Trump's cabinet and judicial appointments went to white men. "When you look at the White House, it really is a white house," he says.
But he refuses to call Trump a racist because the term is so loaded. Instead he says Trump has a "white superiority complex."
...
But he hasn't made another big decision -- who he's going to vote for in November. He calls himself undecided between Biden and Trump.
"You're asking me to choose between projectile vomit and diarrhea," he says.
Cheadle does like Biden's vice-presidential pick, Kamala Harris. She would be the first vice-president who is Black and South Asian. He believes Harris' race could make her more empathetic toward Black people.
"If I vote for Biden, it'll probably be because I'm voting for Harris," he says.
(see also a thread from last year, when he left the GOP)
