Clayton Henkel 

NC Newsline

Embattled Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has not been invited to appear with Donald Trump during the former president’s last two appearances in North Carolina. And while Trump has avoided being seen with Robinson, he claimed on Thursday to be unaware of the controversy that has been brewing since Sept. 19 when CNN aired an explosive report connecting Robinson to a series of explicit racial and sexual online posts.

The comments, made before he ran for public office, appeared on a pornography forum under a username that CNN said it was able to “identify as Robinson by matching a litany of biographical details and a shared email address between the two.” In the comments, he voiced support for the return of slavery. In other posts, Robinson allegedly referred to himself as a “perv” and a “black NAZI.”

Robinson has repeatedly denied the CNN report and has retained legal counsel even as Republican politicians have backed away from the gubernatorial nominee and canceled fundraisers.

On Thursday, News Nation reporter Libbey Dean asked Trump whether or not he would retract his own endorsement of Robinson.

Trump’s response: “I don’t know the situation.”

“It’s impossible to believe that, somehow, Donald Trump missed the news about his handpicked candidate for governor calling himself a ‘Nazi.’ Trump has been to North Carolina twice since the news broke and is still standing by Robinson, even as the people who know Robinson best are abandoning him,” said Harris-Walz spokesperson Ammar Moussa in a statement.

Moussa said Trump simply views Robinson as “a loyal MAGA soldier” who would willingly fan the flames of division.

Robinson has been off the campaign trail since Monday dealing with the loss of multiple campaign staffers and the resignation of senior employees in the lieutenant governor’s office, who are not a part of his campaign.

On Thursday, Robinson was able to claim an endorsement from the Oil & Gas Workers Association and roll out a new campaign commercial featuring his wife, Yolanda Hill Robinson.

In the two-minute video filmed at a kitchen table, Yolanda Hill says her husband “is known sometimes to raise his voice and raise a ruckus, but it is all because of the passion he has to protect North Carolina.”

Hill, who has faced questions about record-keeping discrepancies at a nonprofit she operated, blamed Robinson’s Democratic opponent, Josh Stein, for lying and attacking her husband.

Former Republican governor Pat McCrory said Robinson’s history of inflammatory comments presents the party with a “ticking time bomb” that could sway the presidential race.

Polls show Robinson trailing Stein by double digits.

This weekend, Robinson is slated to appear at the NC Faith & Freedom Coalition Salt & Light Conference in Marion. That event will also feature Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace, and two other North Carolina Republican nominees for statewide office — Congressman and state Attorney General candidate Dan Bishop, and Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Michele Morrow.

Deputy Editor Clayton Henkel manages the NC Newsline website and daily newsletter, while also producing daily audio commentaries and the weekly News and Views radio program/podcast.