The GOP Should Have Drawn Its Mark Robinson Line Long Ago
AtlanticSep 29
North Carolina: GOP Governor Candidate Denies Controversial Comments
Above: North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Image copyright: Chip Somodevilla/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
A Thursday report by CNN claimed that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in that state, between the years of 2008 and 2012 made a series of controversial comments, including calling himself a "black NAZI," on a pornographic website.
The comments were connected to Robinson by CNN using biographical details and matching a shared email address between him and the username, "minisoldr." Robinson also allegedly expressed a fondness for transgender pornography and a desire to see the return of slavery to the US.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Despite Robinson's long history of racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-transgender comments, Robinson has maintained the support of the Republican Party in North Carolina and beyond. So now the GOP is stuck with someone whose campaign claims to be built on religious conservatism but is awash in extreme and hypocritical scandals. This bodes well for the Democrats in North Carolina come November.
Republican narrative
Democrats and their allies who make up most of the mainstream media may want to convict Robinson without a proper investigation into this matter, but CNN has been less than trustworthy with its past reporting — especially when it comes to hoaxes related to conservative figures. This could be high-tech misinformation planted by Robinson's opponent to distract from the issues.