Raleigh, NC (AP) – Mark Robinson, North Carolina’s prospective Republican governor, announced on Tuesday that his campaign has enlisted a law firm to probe a recent CNN report alleging his participation in explicit racial and sexual discussions on a pornographic website’s message board years ago.
This development comes on the heels of increasing disgruntlement among state Republicans. Some have expressed that if Robinson fails to promptly and definitively disprove these accusations, the party should shift its focus to other competitive in-state races. He had already suffered setbacks with some in the party cutting ties, including the Republican Governors Association, which previously provided substantial support to his campaign through advertisement expenditure in his race against Democratic nominee, Josh Stein. Moreover, a siginificant portion of Robinson’s main campaign staff resigned due to the fallout from the report.
The GOP shows concern that these issues surrounding Robinson could potentially affect the standing of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, in the face of Kamala Harris, his Democratic counterpart, especially in the battleground state.
Hal Weatherman, who is hoping to replace Robinson as lieutenant governor, expressed, “The allegations must be swiftly and effectively debunked.” He emphasized that “if he fails to do so, he will lose, given that the attributed comments are undeniably unsettling.”
Robinson, a well-liked figure within the state’s GOP conservative base, would be the first Black governor in the state if elected. He has vehemently denied authorship of the comments, which reportedly date back to more than a decade ago, prior to his political career. Robinson expressed his confidence that his legal team, the Binnall Law Group, “will leave no stone unturned and enable us to use every legal means to hold CNN accountable.”
CNN’s report has brought to light alleged comments made by Robinson on a pornographic forum, including self-identifying as a “black NAZI;” an expressed interest in transgender pornography; a preference for Hitler over then-president Barack Obama, among other inflammatory remarks. Robinson has already come under fire for his stance on sensitive issues such as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and traditional gender roles, providing additional ammunition for Stein and his supporters in their campaign efforts.
Robinson, who was endorsed by Trump in the primaries, retorted he will be pursuing CNN with full force. However, the validity of CNN’s report still remains uncontested by any evidence on Robinson’s behalf.
Thom Tillis, the Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina, proposed that Robinson must by Friday present evidence sufficient for litigation as a defense, else the party moves on. Though Robinson has previously appeared at Trump’s in-state rallies, he was conspicuously absent from a recent Trump event in Wilmington. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, suggested that the ultimate decision rests with North Carolina’s voters regarding whether they believe Robinson’s defense.
