Will Scandals Surrounding Mark Robinson Hurt Trump in North Carolina?

From the Dispatch Politics on The Dispatch

Happy Friday! Election Day is 46 days away, and after this news-heavy week, maybe we can take the weekend to catch our collective breath. Maybe?

Up to Speed

North Carolina Governor's Race Roiled by New Allegations About Republican Candidate

LILLINGTON, North Carolina—The latest bombshell story about Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, may have shaken the state capital and Washington hours before the actual story was even published. But on Thursday evening in Harnett County, local Republican Party activists were barely aware of the details—and unwilling to believe them, anyway.

"I work for a living," said Ricky Temple, a grading and utilities contractor, when asked by Dispatch Politics whether he was familiar with the latest allegations. But, he added, "technology is so far above everybody's head today, with that AI and all that stuff, people can make stuff to sound like Mark Robinson, act like Mark Robinson, and even try to be Mark Robinson."

Here are the claims: Robinson, the 56-year-old lieutenant governor, has a history of making inflammatory comments on a forum at a pornographic website. That's the conclusion of an investigation by CNN of posts on the site, Nude Africa, from a screen name associated with Robinson. The news network found several posts between 2008 and 2012 in which Robinson referred to himself as a "black Nazi" and mused about bringing back slavery. (Robinson is black.) He also posted explicitly about his sexual interests, including a penchant for pornography involving transgender people and secretly "peeping" on women in the shower when he was a teenager.

Robinson, after taking two days to respond to CNN's inquiry about the posts, has denied that he wrote them. "This is not us. These are not our words. And this is not anything that is characteristic of me," Robinson told CNN in an interview Thursday, calling the details "salacious tabloid lies." In a video message he posted on social media Thursday, Robinson reiterated his denial. But CNN's reporting demonstrates a strong and solid connection between the account that posted on Nude Africa and the account name, email address, and profile details associated with Robinson—including the fact that Robinson had used the same screen name on various other platforms.

The story continues an abysmal string of damaging and embarrassing revelations about Robinson, who was already polling far behind his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Josh Stein, in their race for the open governor's seat. Robinson's baggage could not only ensure the GOP's third straight gubernatorial defeat here but also could threaten Donald Trump's ability to keep North Carolina in his column at the presidential level. Vice President Kamala Harris' ascension to the Democratic nomination has put the Tar Heel State back in play, and both she and her running mate Tim Walz have invested time and advertising dollars in the state. Robinson's association with Trump—the former president's endorsement and support for Robinson boosted him in his 2020 run for lieutenant governor and delivered him the gubernatorial nomination this year—might blow back on Trump here, too.

But when asked by Dispatch Politics whether the former president's campaign had urged Robinson to withdraw from the race, the campaign simply said it was focused on the presidential election.

"President Trump's campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country. North Carolina is an [sic] vital part of that plan," Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated in a text Thursday.

The North Carolina Republican Party, meanwhile, responded later Thursday night by standing behind Robinson and his denial. "Mark Robinson has categorically denied the allegations made by CNN but that won't stop the Left from trying to demonize him via personal attacks," the statement read in part.

Rumors of the story's imminent publication began swirling around North Carolina and the online political world Thursday morning. The Carolina Journal, a publication of a statewide conservative think tank, reported "that Robinson is under pressure from staff and members of the Trump campaign to withdraw from the governor's race due to the nature of the story." Under state law , Robinson had until midnight last night to withdraw from the race in order for the state party to replace him as nominee. The state elections board confirmed to journalist Bryan Anderson that Robinson did not file to withdraw by the deadline.

The CNN story was hardly the first embarrassing revelation about Robinson's past. There have been reports about his failure to file taxes over the course of several years, his frequent patronage of pornography shops in his hometown of Greensboro, and his long record of inflammatory public statements and social media posts since becoming a conservative activist. Some of those statements have been the centerpiece of ads from Stein, the Democrat.

Fears among Republican Party leaders that the CNN story could be the final nail in the coffin on Robinson's campaign may be justified.

Yet the story had just barely begun to reach beyond the professional political class on Thursday evening as members of the Harnett County Republican Party were setting up for their monthly meeting in Lillington, a town of roughly 4,500 residents 30 miles south of Raleigh. Here, Republicans enthusiastically wore shirts and buttons with Robinson's and Trump's names, picked up yard signs, and discussed get-out-the-vote efforts.

Before the meeting, one volunteer broke the news to another that there was a new story about Robinson's "online comments," while Anita Douglas, who was also helping set up a sign-in table, told Dispatch Politics she had not heard anything about it. And two members of the executive committee, general counsel Charlene Edwards and precinct chair Rachel Ray-Webb, also told Dispatch Politics they were unfamiliar with the latest report about Robinson.

John Hairr, a Republican candidate for the Harnett County school board, said he had heard about the story, expressing some concern about the provenance of the allegations. Hairr told Dispatch Politics he wondered if it was a "psychological op" designed by Democrats to hurt Republicans.

But a few minutes later, members of the executive committee informed Dispatch Politics that the meeting, which was being held in a county-owned building, was private and requested our reporter step outside. On the curb Ricky Temple, the contractor, told Dispatch Politics that he knows Robinson personally and doesn't believe any of the allegations against him. (Temple is also a precinct chair in the Harnett County GOP, though he insisted he was speaking only for himself and not on behalf of the party.)

"He's one of the finest Christian men I know. Okay?" said Temple as he fished a cigarette out of the front pocket of his T-shirt. "My granddaddy told me something one time—he said, 'Son, don't believe nothing you hear and half you see.' Well, I'm gonna change that 'half you see' to 'all you see' when they start putting stuff out like that, because, you know, you can't trust y'all people—media."

Members of Congress Deflect Blame for Heated Rhetoric

As the country deals with violent threats and a second assassination attempt against Donald Trump, lawmakers have a lot of ideas for what their colleagues across the aisle should do to deescalate the political rhetoric in America, but few for how their own partisans could contribute to that effort.

This week, Dispatch Politics asked House and Senate members of both parties what their side should do to help lower the heat of the rhetoric in American political life. Most of them immediately blamed the other party.

"Are you serious?" said Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican and member of the House Freedom Caucus. "The minority leader in the House calls us extreme MAGA Republicans like we're going to lead to the end of democracy ... and you're coming to us? No. Don't."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, also turned the question around on the opposing party.

"Hearing the Republicans claim that they bear no responsibility for the heat of the rhetoric when Donald Trump refers to his political rivals as vermin and says he wants to lock them up just doesn't wash. It is important that we have space to talk about exactly what is at stake in this election," she said, adding that Democrats should also condemn violence.

The morning after the first assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in July, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson made an appearance on the Today show in which he called for leaders on "both sides" to help "turn the rhetoric down." Trump then indicated that his speech at the upcoming Republican National Convention would focus more on unity than on attacking President Joe Biden. The actual address , however, did not quite live up to that expectation. Now, with a second person having tried to assassinate Trump and a small town being the site of violent threats , few federal elected officials seem to want to reflect on the words their allies use.

"The former president of the United States was shot at and hit. A man was killed. Now, he has been targeted again by an assassin," Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, told Dispatch Politics. "I don't think this is the time for the game of, 'Well, there's good people on both sides.' B.S. You've got one side that is clearly animating violent assassins, so they need to stop that rhetoric, and we'll talk about cat memes some other day. It's ridiculous to equate the two."

Hawley referenced baseless claims spread by Trump and other Republicans that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. After candidates for high office gave the claims publicity, bomb threats —all of which have been hoaxes and many of which are from overseas—rocked the city. Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii denounced Republicans' "anti-Haitian" rhetoric.

"When you think about the kind of violent rhetoric that the Republicans use, I don't think there's much of a comparison. Let's start there," she said. "So, there's no false equivalency here."

Others called out "the media" in their responses. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina acknowledged that "we all can do better" but said the idea that the Republicans' candidate will "destroy democracy" is "not a helpful narrative."

"I think if the shoe were on the other foot, if they changed party labels, nobody would be asking a Democrat about that," he said. "That's the way I think the media's set up today."

Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, also directed his criticisms at the other party.

"You're only ultimately responsible for the words that are coming out of your own mouth, and I don't use that crazy kind of rhetoric and say those kinds of crazy things," he said. "But, of course, Trump and others do, and some people, that resonates with them."

Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who is also running for the Senate, appeared to defend his party's rhetoric, saying he did not think there was "anything inconsistent with defending democracy and denouncing political violence."

And Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana noted first that "the people who have been triggered have been Democrats," referencing the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise, now Republican majority leader, by a man who authorities said was driven by "rage against Republican legislators." Cassidy said both sides have been "guilty of incendiary rhetoric" and called on Republicans and Democrats to "just consciously avoid" comments such as, "We're going to fight," or, "We're going to take them out."

Only one elected official who spoke to Dispatch Politics was willing to issue an unqualified admonishment of his own party's rhetoric.

"Leadership starts at the top, and the candidates have been pretty hot," Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said. "When I see a post that says, ' I hate Taylor Swift ,' I would suggest that's not the kind of rhetoric that's ever in the history of our country been associated with a presidential nominee."

Eyes on the Trail

Notable and Quotable

"If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot. ... Probably should not have said that. My staff will deal with that later."

—Vice President Kamala Harris during an event in Michigan with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, September 19, 2024