“With early voting underway and two weeks until Election Day, Donald Trump is still trying to keep distance between himself and North Carolina’s embattled Republican nominee for governor,” Politico reports.
“Asked whether he would urge voters here to still support Mark Robinson, Trump declined to say either way.”
Said Trump: “I’m not familiar with the state of the race right now.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) filed a lawsuit against CNN and a porn store employee in which he admits that he frequented a Greensboro porn store to “bring over free pizza” and “socialize.”
“Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp withdrew his support Monday from beleaguered North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who was linked in a CNN report to a series of inflammatory comments on a pornographic website,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) indicated that he will not vote for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) for governor, The Hill reports.
“Top Republican leaders in North Carolina have called on Mark Robinson to provide proof that he wasn’t behind salacious posts on a pornography website — but new information continues to point to his involvement in the type of online sexual activity he denies,” Politico reports.
“User data… shows that the person using the ‘Nude Africa’ account that reportedly belonged to Robinson had accessed the porn website from a location not far from Robinson’s home. Robinson’s email address is also registered with other previously unreported dating websites.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) “rejected multiple offers from supporters to connect him with information technology specialists to help the Republican gubernatorial nominee investigate racist and lewd comments on a pornographic website made by someone with a username that CNN tied to Robinson,” WRAL reports.
“Robinson’s alleged rejection of the offers sowed doubt among some staff members… His response in the wake of the report likely played a role in the exodus of some staff members.”
The Republican Governors Association has no plans to commit additional spending in the North Carolina gubernatorial race, National Review reports.
Said a spokesperson: “We don’t comment on internal strategy or investment decisions, but we can confirm what’s public — our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made.”
“Mark Robinson returned to the campaign trail on Monday in North Carolina, insisting that he will remain in the governor’s race even after most of his staff resigned following a CNN report linking him to numerous disturbing comments on a pornographic website,” the New York Times reports.
After a wave of resignations, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Marco Robinson (R) has just three people still working on his gubernatorial campaign — two campaign spokesmen and a bodyguard, WUNC reports.
“Several top staffers and fundraisers for Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign have quit,“ WRAL reports.
“The North Carolina Republican Party nominee for governor is facing increased pressure and skepticism from members of his party after a recent report by CNN alleging that he made lewd, racist and pro-Hitler comments on a pornographic website’s messaging board.”
Raleigh News and Observer: Mark Robinson’s top campaign staff in NC governor’s race resign in wake of scandal.
Jonathan Last: “Up until last night, the GOP in North Carolina could have replaced its gubernatorial candidate. Robinson is going to lose this race. He’s going to lose it so badly that he might pull the top of the ticket down with him. And he’s going to lose it dishonorably. He isn’t Barry Goldwater going down to defeat because of his principles.”
“What happened is that the Republican Party of North Carolina got hijacked by an insane person. And when the shit hit the fan, the NC GOP didn’t have the ability to push this insane person aside.”
“This is the difference between a healthy institution and a failed institution.”
For members: Trump Risks Being Doomed by Ally in North Carolina
“Donald Trump is facing calls both from his allies and from within his own campaign to pull his endorsement from scandal-plagued North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson,” NBC News reports.
“So far, however, there are no plans for the former president to formally drop him.”
“There are pockets of advisers within the Trump campaign who have quietly been urging him to withdraw his endorsement of Robinson, but so far those requests have fallen on deaf ears.”
Cook Political Report: “Things already weren’t looking great for North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s chances in the race for governor. Democrats have pummeled him for months over his inflammatory rhetoric about women and abortion, and recent polls have shown him trailing Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein by anywhere from high single digits to double digits.”
“But damning stories out Thursday further imperil Robinson’s already slim hopes.”
“An email address belonging to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, a website designed for married people seeking affairs,” Politico reports.
“The discovery of Robinson’s personal email address on Ashley Madison comes as Republicans in North Carolina on Thursday braced for more potentially damaging news about the scandal-prone nominee for governor, whose chances of winning the seat appear increasingly grim.”
“Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a ‘black NAZI!’ and expressed support for reinstating slavery,” CNN reports.
“Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a ‘perv.'”
“CNN is reporting only a small portion of Robinson’s comments on the website given their graphic nature.”
But Robinson insisted he was not suspending his campaign: “We are not getting out of this race. There are people who are counting on us to win this race.”
A source familiar with the forthcoming CNN story on North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) told Bryan Anderson the revelations include him saying things in online chats about liking transgender porn, peeping inside women’s locker rooms while in college and wanting to own slaves.
A campaign adviser tells Business North Carolina that gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson (R) “is expected to go on CNN today to defend himself regarding a pending story the national network is preparing.”
Said adviser Jason Williams: “I spoke to Mark this morning and he was prepared to go on CNN and defend himself against the allegations.”
Williams described the CNN story as a “hit piece,” while adding: “The main ones I remember were that they were alleging he made some extremely racist comments about Martin Luther King, referred to himself as a Black Nazi and used antisemitic language referring to Jews.”
Earlier reports suggested Robinson was being pressured to drop out of the governor’s race.
“North Carolina Republicans are bracing Thursday morning as word spreads about a damning news story looming regarding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson,” the Carolina Journal reports.
“Sources with direct knowledge have spoken with Carolina Journal on the condition of anonymity and said 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, which they say involves activity on adult websites in 2000s.”
“Thursday evening is the state deadline to withdraw from the race. The deadline to remove Robinson’s name from the ballot already has passed.”
Audrey Fahlberg: “The article focuses on unsavory comments Robinson made in several online chatrooms… If what I’m hearing is correct, this story will nuke Robinson’s already dwindling chances of flipping termed-out Democratic governor Roy Cooper’s seat.”
Bryan Anderson: “Robinson cancelled two campaign events on Thursday scheduled for Vance and Warren counties. The move came in anticipation of a forthcoming CNN story.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.