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The man who Trump once called “my African-American” at a campaign event has left the Republican Party.

Video of Trump’s infamous ‘my African-American’ comment:

TRUMP once called Gregory Cheadle “my African American.” But now Cheadle is leaving the @GOP, saying it's pursuing a “pro-white” agenda & using black people like him as “political pawns.” He is running for Congress as an independent, @Yamiche reports. https://t.co/KY94cwI6Sw pic.twitter.com/R2hloppxzR — Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) September 12, 2019

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Yamiche Alcindor of PBS reported on Gregory Cheadle:

Now, the 62-year-old real estate broker, who supported the Republican approach to the economy, said he sees the party as pursuing a “pro-white” agenda and using black people like him as “political pawns.” The final straw for Cheadle came when he watched many Republicans defend Trump’s tweets telling four congresswomen of color, who are all American citizens, to go back to their countries, as well as defend the president’s attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and his comments that Cummings’ hometown of Baltimore is “infested.”

“President Trump is a rich guy who is mired in white privilege to the extreme,” said Cheadle, of Redding, Calif., who switched from being an independent to a Republican in 2001. “Republicans are too sheepish to call him out on anything and they are afraid of losing their positions and losing any power themselves.”

Even “Trump’s African-American,” thinks that the president is pursuing a pro-white agenda. The bigotry and discrimination are becoming obvious even to those who once supported Trump.

One of Trump’s biggest flaws as a politician is that he uses bullhorns, not dog whistles. Republicans before Obama at least tried to subtle in their discrimination because they understood that racism was wrong. Republicans reacted to the Obama presidency by embracing their bigotry and racism.

These beliefs didn’t materialize under Trump. They have always been in elements of the party, but Trump has made them centerpieces of a GOP that has been remade in his own image.

Trump is getting what he has always wanted, a whites-only Republican Party.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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