Donald Trump once praised Mark Robinson as “Martin Luther King on steroids.” But the former president is suddenly silent on the North Carolina Republican lieutenant governor who is now embroiled in a scandal that is threatening to derail his 2024 gubernatorial campaign.
Robinson is running against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein in the race to replace North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited.
What did Robinson say?
Last week, CNN reported that Robinson made lewd and incendiary comments, referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressing support for reinstating slavery, on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, before he was elected to statewide office.
“Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found,” CNN reported.
Robinson denied making the comments, which were made under a username that CNN linked to him. And he refused to drop out.
“Folks, this race right now, our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with to salacious tabloid trash,” Robinson said in a video posted to social media before the CNN story was published.
But the fallout over the report was swift and continues to plague his bid.
On Friday, a planned GOP fundraiser for Robinson was called off. Numerous campaign staffers, including his campaign manager, quit over the weekend. And the National Review reported Monday that the Republican Governors Association has no plans to commit additional spending on the gubernatorial nominee’s behalf in the lead-up to Election Day.
What was the reaction from the Trump campaign?
Trump, who endorsed Robinson in the race, held a rally in Wilmington, N.C., on Saturday — and didn’t mention Robinson once.
Campaigning in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, dodged questions from journalists about Robinson’s comments.
“What he said or didn’t say is between him and the people of North Carolina,” Vance said. “I’ve seen some of the statements. I haven’t seen them all. Some of them are pretty gross, to put it mildly. Mark Robinson says that those statements are false, that he didn’t actually speak them. So I think it’s up to Mark Robinson to make his case to the people of North Carolina that those weren’t his statements.”
A spokesman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What did Trump say about Robinson before the scandal broke?
At the North Carolina Republican Party’s annual convention last year, Trump announced his plans to endorse Robinson, who he called “one of the great stars of the party, one of the great stars in politics.”
At a rally in Greensboro, N.C., earlier this year, Trump formally endorsed Robinson, repeatedly comparing him to one of America’s most prominent civil rights leaders.
“This is Martin Luther King on steroids,” Trump said. “I told that to Mark. I said: ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.’”
What has Robinson’s opponent said?
Stein, the North Carolina attorney general, says the comments show that Robinson is “unfit” for office.
“Mark Robinson has revealed himself to be absolutely unfit to be governor, unacceptable for any elected position,” Stein told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC Monday. “I don’t care what office it is, but let alone governor. And this was true before last week’s story broke.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign is promoting Trump’s past support for Robinson in North Carolina, which is considered a battleground state in the general election. Over the weekend, the Harris campaign sent out a state-of-the-race memo saying that “Donald Trump’s and Mark Robinson’s fates in North Carolina are tied together.”
