For better or worse (but probably mostly worse), this election has been weird on a whole new level. For example, Donald Trump, who has the support of former KKK leader David Duke, often has "Blacks for Trump" signs at his rallies—but the signs are often held by white people. Given that, and the fact that even Duke has more African American support than Trump, it's pretty rare to see African Americans supporting Donald Trump. But a black supporter did show up to a recent Trump rally, and Trump called him a "thug" and had the man kicked out.
C.J. Cary, a 63-year-old African American marine veteran who supports Trump, went to a rally Friday in Kinston, North Carolina. According to the News & Observer, Cary had written a letter asking Trump to be less offensive and more inclusive towards black people, women, college students, and people with disabilities. Instead of mailing it, emailing it, or tweeting at him, Cary wanted to hand-deliver the letter to Trump. He got about 20 or 30 feet away from the stage and started shouting "Donald" while waving his note in an attempt to get Trump's attention.
He did get Trump's attention, but not in the way he wanted.
When other Trump supporters noticed Cary, they assumed he was a protester, so they began waving their signs in that direction. At first, Trump didn't mind the guy, saying, "That's alright, leave him alone." But he changed his mind pretty quickly. "We have a protester," Trump said as the crowd booed. Going off his conspiracy theory that Clinton pays protesters, Trump asked, "By the way, were you paid $1,500 to be a thug?" Motioning with his hand, Trump added, "You can get him out. Get him out."
Security finally reached the man and escorted him out of the rally as the audience erupted in cheers.
"He entirely mistook that and thought that I was a protester," Cary told the News & Observer.
Of course, Cary is actually a huge Trump supporter, and has around 100 signs in his yard, according to the Washington Post. In the letter he wanted to give Trump, he wrote that the Republican nominee "must defeat lying Hillary and lying Obama," whom he described as "bad really bad." While he wasn't able to hand it to Trump directly, the security guard agreed to deliver the letter on Cary's behalf.
Did the incident change Cary's vote? Nope. "I was a little sad [that I was escorted out] but was more happy than sad because my purpose for being there was to give that document to Donald," Cary told the Washington Post. "My mission was to make sure I got it in the right hands, because someone could have just easily tossed it or dropped it."
On Twitter, Cary said that he "felt joy" while being escorted out.
Because Trump "has been so traumatized by Black hate," Cary tweeted that it wasn't Trump's fault to call out the "only Black at least at the front."
Cary said he supports Trump, even though he wants him to be more inclusive, because he's honest. "You can work with an honest person and convince them their vision isn't in the best interest of everyone," Cary said. But you can't work with dishonest people, Cary said, like Obama, who he described as "the worst president in American history."
