Gregory Cheadle: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Gregory Cheadle FacebookGregory Cheadle, once described by Donald Trump as “my African American,” is running for Congress as an independent.

Gregory Cheadle, a man President Donald Trump once described as “my African American,” has announced he’s running for a seat in the House of Representatives as an independent next year.

Cheadle was first pushed into the political spotlight in June 2016 during a Trump rally in Redding, California. Trump was telling the crowd about his “tremendous” support from black voters when he happened to spot Cheadle in the audience.

“Look at my African American over here. Look at him,” Trump said. “Are you the greatest?”

Now, three years later, Cheadle told PBS NewsHour that he has finally decided to leave the Republican party, partly after seeing black people used as “political pawns” and Republicans following a “pro-white” agenda. Cheadle, 62, has run for Congress four times in the past – last year being the most recent – but has not won.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Republicans’ Reactions to Trump’s Tweets Telling Congresswomen To “Go Back” To Their Countries Was a Breaking Point for Cheadle

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……

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In July, Trump tweeted that four American congresswomen should “go back” to their home countries, referring to Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” Trump wrote as part of a lengthy Twitter rant.

Omar is the only one of the four representatives who was not born in the United States, though she and her family immigrated to Minneapolis in 1997 after fleeing the civil war in Somalia, according to her campaign website.

Cheadle told PBS that watching Republicans later defend Trump’s tweets was one of the final straws for him leaving the party.

“President Trump is a rich guy who is mired in white privilege to the extreme,” Cheadle said. “Republicans are too sheepish to call him out on anything and they are afraid of losing their positions and losing any power themselves.”

2. Cheadle Describes Himself on his Campaign Website as Not a “Good ol’ boy”

Cheadle’s campaign website states: “Serious times demand a SERIOUS MAN, not a ‘Good ol’ boy!’”

The candidate describes himself as the only contender “strong and bold enough to be what a Republican used to be and what a Democrat ought to be, an INDEPENDENT STATESMAN for WE THE PEOPLE.”

In a short list, Cheadle also says he’s not “a puppet of the filthy rich, not owned by corporations [and] not part of the old guard, good ol’ boy, statist Republican or Democrat Party.”

3. Cheadle Has Talked About Growing Up Poor and Struggling to Make Ends Meet

Cheadle gives more information about his personal and professional background on his campaign page, saying he was not born “privileged” or with a “silver spoon” in his mouth.

“As a consequence, he knows what it is like to struggle and pull yourself up by the bootstraps when the bootstraps have been cut,” Cheadle wrote about himself. He said that after living through the era of segregation, he “abhors injustice in all forms” and is an advocate for equal rights.

In a 2018 interview, he added: “I was born poor and I’m still poor. I’m still struggling. So I can relate to the people who are struggling. I’m a candidate and I [still] buy my clothes from the thrift store.”

4. Cheadle Says He is a Real Estate Broker, Author, Lecturer and “Luxury Playhouse Builder”

Cheadle has an undergraduate degree in psychology and “pre-med,” according to his website. He also has a master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis on healthcare administration, along with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.

Cheadle describes himself as a real estate broker, “luxury playhouse builder,” author and lecturer. The candidate says his main policy areas of focus are healthcare and “reducing the tax burden on citizens.”

5. Cheadle Said He Wasn’t Offended by Trump’s Comments in 2016, But Now He’s Less Sure

Shortly after Trump’s rally comments in 2016, Cheadle spoke about the incident on CNN, saying definitively that he wasn’t offended by the remarks.

“When you look at what Donald was saying, initially he was saying that it was a great fan, this African American was a great fan, and then after he made the remark he says: ‘Aren’t you the greatest?,’” Cheadle said. “So how in the world can I take offense at being a great fan and the greatest? No, I’m still not offended by it.”

Cheadle added at the time: “Blacks and whites, we have a history of dissent. So we have to come together, we have to make the effort to come together.”

Now, though, Cheadle is less confident about that answer.

“I’m more critical of [the comment] today than I was back then, because today I wonder to what extent he said that for political gain or for attention,” Cheadle told PBS.