North Carolina gov. candidate Mark Robinson responds to bombshell CNN report
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) is facing pressure from within the Republican Party to suspend his campaign for governor. The pressure began in anticipation of a story that would expose a series of controversial comments made by Robinson on a pornographic website.
The comments, which were reported first by CNN, were posted prior to Robinson's time in politics to a website called "Nude Africa." As the report shows, the comments were lewd and sexual in nature and included a reference to himself as a "black NAZI!"
Comments from the account that's been linked to Robinson in several ways also said "slavery is not bad" and "I would certainly buy a few." Further comments such as "I like watching tranny on girl porn!" and "I'm a ‘perv’ too!" were also found in the CNN investigation linking the comments to the gubernatorial candidate.
Robinson had campaign events scheduled on Thursday but they were cancelled. He also did not attend Wednesday’s rally with Sen. JD Vance in Raleigh.
Ballots are scheduled to begin being mailed out to military and overseas voters on Friday.
In response to questions from Nexstar's WNCN about the status of Robinson’s campaign—and before the CNN report—spokesman Mike Lonergan wrote in an email, “Where on earth did you hear this absurd nonsense? Is the press just making stuff up out of whole cloth now?”
Sources who’ve spoken to WNCN say it’s unclear what Robinson will do, but Republicans are discussing what will happen in the event he does indeed exit the race.
In response to mounting pressure, Robinson put out the video below on X. In it, he vows to stay in the race. He also calls the news media his "opponent," and refers to the expected story coming out about him as "salacious tabloid trash."
"The things that you will see in that story—those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character, and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before," Robinson added.
Under state law, if Robinson were to drop out and his name remained on the ballot, any votes cast for him would go to the person chosen by the state’s executive committee.
WNCN also learned Thursday that the lieutenant governor’s office at the state legislative building had been cleared out.
A spokesperson for Republican Senate leader Phil Berger’s office said the lieutenant governor’s staff had been notified of that “weeks ago.”
“As part of the preparations for the next biennium, Senate leadership is evaluating the space allocations in both the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building. Since the Lt. Governor has a formal office within walking distance of the legislature, it was determined that his designated space in the Legislative Building could be converted to a meeting space for legislators. The Lt. Governor’s staff was notified weeks ago and did not raise any concerns about the space being repurposed,” wrote Lauren Horsch in an email.
NC Republican reaction
In an interview with NewsNation, Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) was asked if he was concerned about Robinson.
"The allegations are concerning but we don't have any facts," Budd said. "We're going to wait through the weekend and get everything together."
A statement has also been released by NC Senate nominee Scott Lassiter, formally calling for Robinson to suspend his campaign.
“As a proud Republican, I stand for hard work, fiscal responsibility, and liberty. But no one should feel obligated to support a candidate solely due to party affiliation,” Lassiter stated, “Wrong is still wrong, and if the recent allegations against Robinson are true, combined with his previous public rhetoric, I believe it’s time for him to step aside. North Carolinians deserve a viable choice in this election.”
Robinson's endorsement from Trump
Earlier this year, on March 3, Former President Donald Trump endorsed Robinson in his hometown, Greensboro. In that speech, he compared him to Martin Luther King, Jr.
In response, a statement from the Robinson campaign said, "I look forward to partnering with him to take on the failed Biden-Stein agenda, lead our united Republican ticket to victory in November, and get our state and country back on track."