- North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson reveals explosive posts on pornographic site
- Republicans say if the allegations are true, Robinson should drop out of the race
- Democrat Josh Stein blames Donald Trump for Robinson’s presence on the ballot
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein blames Donald Trump for helping North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson secure the Republican nomination for governor.
Meanwhile, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, responding for the first time to CNN’s explosive report, said it’s not up to him whether Robinson should continue in her race for governor.
He also cast doubt on the allegations and said he would reserve the right to pass judgment until they were proven true.
“The allegations are pretty wild, of course, but I know they’re not necessarily true,” Vance told NBC Philadelphia on Saturday.
He added that “ultimately, it’s up to Mark Robinson and North Carolina whether he will be their governor and whether he wants to stay in the race.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is facing mounting pressure to drop his bid for governor amid allegations of highly inappropriate and racist comments on a pornographic forum.
Stein said Sunday that Trump and others who helped Robinson rise should be held accountable at the polls in November for supporting the candidate who allegedly called himself a “black Nazi” and a “pervert.”
A bipartisan group of voices spoke out Sunday, criticizing Robinson for his vulgar and shocking comments made on the porn forum Nude Africa.
“The allegations are beyond disconcerting,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview with Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, on Sunday. “If they’re true, he’s unfit to serve. If they’re not true, he’s faced with the biggest defamation lawsuit in the history of the country.”
Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said CNN’s latest report is “great news for Democrats.”
“I mean, Robinson is the new dream candidate to run against,” he told Welker in his own Sunday morning interview.
“In 2018, I thought Scott Wagner was the ideal candidate we could put forward and we beat him by 17 points. And then, of course, Doug Mastriano came on the scene in 2022,” Fetterman said, listing some past Republican candidates who were defeated by Democrats.
“But then Robinson said, ‘Hey, hold my beer. ‘ And now, of course, Trump won’t back down, simply because he will never admit what a disaster it is,” the Pennsylvania senator concluded.
Fetterman said he’s not sure this will affect the presidential race in November, but said “it would be wonderful and almost a game-changer if Harris wins North Carolina.”
“She’s already made North Carolina competitive,” he said of Vice President Kamala Harris. “And after Robinson, we’re now in the best possible position to win.”
Meanwhile, the man running against Robinson for a residency at the North Carolina Governor’s Mansion said it is Trump and others on the 2024 ticket who should face consequences for backing Robinson.
Sen. JD Vance says it’s up to Robinson whether he stays in the North Carolina gubernatorial race and says he won’t pass judgment until the allegations are proven true
Josh Stein is running as a Democrat in the race for North Carolina governor and says Robinson is only on the ballot because of Donald Trump’s endorsement.
“Robinson exists because Donald Trump has elevated him,” Stein told CNN’s State of the Union host Jake Tapper on Sunday.
“Candidates in all of North Carolina’s precincts need to be held accountable for supporting Mark Robinson and being a part of his entire campaign,” he continued. “They’ve supported him and now it seems like people want to get away from him.”
“But Mark Robinson could not exist without the support of Donald Trump.”
The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the lieutenant governor in recent days. He did not appear at a rally with Sen. J.D. Vance in Raleigh last week, which he was originally scheduled to attend, and was not at a Trump rally in North Carolina on Saturday.