WILKESBORO, N.C. (AP) 鈥� North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate vowed Monday to rebuild his campaign staff and a key Republican group backed away from his race following a alleging he made explicit racial and sexual posts years ago on a pornography website鈥檚 message board.
Robinson, the sitting lieutenant governor, revealed Sunday that his campaign鈥檚 senior adviser, campaign manager and two other top staffers had stepped down. The senior adviser said separately that four other top aides also had quit.
And the Republican Governors Association 鈥� anticipated to keep running ads to boost Robinson鈥檚 bid into the fall and oppose Democratic rival Josh Stein 鈥� will no longer support Robinson, association Chair and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told reporters Monday. Recent polls have shown Stein, the current attorney general, ahead of Robinson. Stein also has outspent Robinson on the airwaves.
鈥淥ur current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow, and no further placements have been made,鈥� association spokesperson Courtney Alexander said Monday. 鈥淩GA remains committed to electing Republican Governors all across the country.鈥�
Lee had been set to travel to North Carolina this week for a scheduled fundraiser for Robinson, but the event was canceled. Lee said Monday that the decision was made before CNN's report ran.
Robinson, who would be North Carolina's first Black governor if elected, has denied writing the messages from more than a decade ago, well before he became active in politics, calling them "salacious tabloid lies.鈥� Fellow Republican leaders are suggesting Robinson, with a long history of inflammatory comments, must make a credible defense, or his gubernatorial bid is washed up.
Speaking after a campaign event Monday morning in the northwestern North Carolina mountains, Robinson said his campaign is "getting offers from all over" to help work for it.
鈥淲e鈥檙e right in the process right now of forming a team that we know can still lead us to victory," Robinson said at a bakery in Wilkesboro, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Charlotte. "So we have full confidence in our ability to keep going.鈥�
The CNN report last week unearthed posts it said Robinson left on a porn site鈥檚 message boards in which he referred to himself as a 鈥渂lack NAZI;鈥� said he enjoyed transgender pornography; said in 2012 he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama; and slammed the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as 鈥渨orse than a maggot.鈥�
Robinson also finds himself separated from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who endorsed Robinson for governor before the March primary and has given him the stage to speak at his in-state rallies. Robinson was not involved in Saturday's Trump rally in Wilmington, and Trump has scheduled another North Carolina event for Wednesday in suburban Charlotte.
At a campaign event Monday in Charlotte, Trump's running mate, JD Vance, described the comments as 鈥減retty gross,鈥� but said that it's up to North Carolina voters to decide what they think of the comments and whether they believe Robinson's defense.
鈥淭he people of North Carolina are going to make that decision,鈥� Vance said in response to a question from a WBTV reporter. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen some of the statements, I haven鈥檛 seen them all. Some of them are pretty gross, to put it mildly.鈥�
鈥淢ark Robinson says that those statements are false, that he didn鈥檛 actually speak them. So, I think it鈥檚 up to Mark Robinson to make his case to the people of North Carolina that those weren鈥檛 his statements, and I鈥檓 going to let him make that case.鈥�
Talking to reporters in Wilkesboro, Robinson said his campaign is talking about taking CNN "to task for what they have done to us ... you better understand I am coming after CNN full throttle.鈥� CNN provided no comment Monday.
Last week, CNN said it had matched details of an account on the pornographic website forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name. CNN reported that details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson鈥檚 age, length of marriage and other biographical information..
In a speech to supporters at Vernon鈥檚 Cake Carousel, Robinson tried to focus on campaign issues like the economy, emphasizing public safety, public education, healthcare, infrastructure and housing. He referred briefly to his working-class history, saying he knows what it's like to lose a job because the work is being moved to Mexico.
Robinson was elected lieutenant governor in his first bid for public office in 2020. He tells a life story that includes childhood poverty, personal bankruptcy and religious renewal.
Considered a rising star in the party, he has been well-known for his fiery speeches and evocative rhetoric. Trump had previously called Robinson 鈥淢artin Luther King on steroids鈥� for his speaking ability.
Stein and his allies have blitzed TV and the internet with commercials and footage of Robinson making incendiary comments. In a Robinson used the word 鈥渇ilth鈥� when discussing gay and transgender people. in 2019, Robinson said abortion in America is about 鈥渒illing the child because you weren鈥檛 responsible enough to keep your skirt down or your pants up 鈥� and not get pregnant by your own choice because you felt like getting your groove thing on."
The Associated Press
