David M Jackson

USA TODAY

The African-American man singled out by Donald Trump at a recent rally says he does not back the New York businessman.

"I am not a Trump supporter," Gregory Cheadle told NPR News. "I went to go hear Donald Trump because I have an open mind."

During a rally Friday in California, Trump was talking about a black supporter's actions at a previous event when he spotted Cheadle in the crowd.

"Look at my African-American over here! Look at him!" Trump said. "Are you the greatest? You know what I'm talking about, OK?"

Cheadle, a Republican candidate in a California congressional race, said he was using a "Veterans For Trump" sign to shield his head from the sun, and added he took no offense from Trump's comments.

"I was not offended by it because he had been speaking positively about black people prior to that statement," Cheadle told NPR News. "People around me were laughing [at the fact] that he noticed me and everybody was happy. It was a jovial thing."

Reports NPR: