The Trump campaign and national Republicans are plotting their next moves as they attempt to understand how an alleged porn-site scandal involving Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the party’s gubernatorial nominee in North Carolina, could affect the presidential race for former President Donald Trump in the swing state.
CNN reported Thursday that Robinson allegedly posted a number of controversial comments on a forum of a pornographic website between 2008 and 2012, in which he had called himself a “black NAZI.”
The report also claims Robinson had called Martin Luther King Jr. “Martin Lucifer K**n” and supported the reinstatement of slavery, as well as other sexually graphic comments.
Robinson denied the details of the report, calling it “salacious tabloid trash,” and vowed to stay in the gubernatorial race.
The presidential race in the Tar Heel State was already expected to be decided by razor-thin margins, but now there’s concern that the scandal could hurt Trump’s chances in the state.
An average of polling in the state shows that Trump is just 0.1 points ahead of Harris, 47.5% to her 47.4%, making it the closest race in the country.
Dennis Lennox, a Republican consultant based in Michigan, predicted the fallout from the scandal would make the presidential race “a complete dogfight.”
“Trump should kick Robinson to the curb and formally declare him persona non grata. It’s hard to map a route for Trump to the magic number of 270 in the Electoral College if he doesn’t win North Carolina,” Lennox said, speaking to the Washington Examiner.
As Trump prepares to visit North Carolina on Saturday for a rally, there’s growing anticipation about how he plans to address the controversy. Robinson will not attend the rally in Wilmington, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Earlier in the week, Trump’s campaign told Robinson he was not welcome at rallies for Trump or his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), according to reporting from the Carolina Journal. Robinson was expected to attend an event with Vance on Wednesday, but the gubernatorial candidate’s office announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Hours after the Thursday scandal, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign quickly worked to link Trump to Robinson, posting a compilation on social media of the former president praising the lieutenant governor.
On Friday, the campaign launched a new TV ad in North Carolina titled “Both Wrong,” tying Trump to Robinson and his anti-abortion comments. The ad does not mention any details of the bombshell report. The Democratic National Committee also announced a new crop of billboard ads featuring Trump’s connection to Robinson.
“Trump can’t run away from the truth: He stands shoulder to shoulder with Robinson and for the extreme abortion bans that are putting women’s lives at risk across the country — and if they have the chance, they will go further and ban abortion across the country,” said Jen O’Malley Dillion, the Harris-Walz campaign chairwoman, in a statement.
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Controversy surrounded Robinson even before the report came out. In a 2018 Facebook post, he called reports of the Holocaust “hogwash.” In a separate 2017 post, he implied that the widely accepted figure of 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis is false. He also received backlash when he admitted he paid for his wife to get an abortion despite his opposition to the procedure.
“I think we all thought Robinson was problematic from the get-go, but I think this is going to be an even bigger problem in North Carolina,” said a Republican operative, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect candidly on the situation.
“We really need Trump to very clearly come out very strongly against him. Robinson is going to lose anyway, so we need to be done with this and move on because Trump needs to win North Carolina. Unfortunately, I do think this is going to shift the race for the Electoral College,” the operative added.
Trump has a history of supporting controversial candidates, most notably during the midterm election in 2022 when he supported Herschel Walker in Georgia, a former football player who ran for Senate. Walker was at the center of controversy, including accusations of domestic violence and claims he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortions, which he eventually confirmed.
Walker ultimately lost the race to now-Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), giving Democrats a 51-49 majority. None of the allegations damaged Trump. However, he was not a candidate running at the time.
While other GOP operatives agree the report is problematic, some are concerned about the possibility of alienating the MAGA voting bloc by completely abandoning Robinson’s candidacy.
“We live in an age where politics is so tribal, especially on the MAGA side, and you know, if you’re Trump and come out and disavow this guy, you could be pissing off your own supporters by not being loyal – so that’s what I wrestle with,” said one Republican strategist based in Washington, D.C. “Ten years ago, you’d advise your candidate to call for him to get out of the race, but it’s just not as clear cut anymore.”
Some Republicans are unsure if Robinson’s scandal will have implications for Trump in North Carolina, pointing to polls that show the Republican presidential candidate running far ahead of the embattled gubernatorial candidate.
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Others are pointing to North Carolina’s history of ticket-splitting in previous elections. In the past 50 years, the state has backed the Democratic presidential nominee only twice, with former President Jimmy Carter in 1976 and former President Barack Obama in 2008. Additionally, the state has only elected three Republican governors in the past century.
“I think North Carolina voters have proven to be independent and can vote for candidates of different parties, so I’m unsure how much of an impact this will have on the race for the White House. I think only time can tell,” the Republican strategist said.