As RedState reported, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's gubernatorial campaign was rocked last Thursday after CNN broke a story that alleged the Republican nominee made controversial posts on a pornography website between 2008 and 2012.
Among the alleged comments was one where a person using the online handle "minisoldr” declared themselves to be a "black Nazi." The account holder also allegedly said they were a "perv" who supported bringing back slavery, enjoyed watching porn featuring transgender women and women, and had peeped on teenage girls.
In a video statement released ahead of the report dropping, Robinson said "The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character, and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before."
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In an update to this story, Robinson made a campaign stop in Wilkesboro, NC Monday, where he was pressed by reporters over the allegations as well as news that a number of campaign staffers including some in senior positions resigned over the weekend.
Here's how Robinson responded when he was asked if he had "taken steps" to prove his claim that CNN had published falsehoods:
“We absolutely are. We absolutely are. We’re in talks right now, everything up to legal counsel to take CNN to task for what they have done to us. We are going after them, okay? We are going to go after them for what they’ve done. But we have five weeks left in this race, folks. Make no mistake about it: We are not going to let CNN throw us off of our mission."
He also emphasized what he said was the need to focus on what's happening right now, not "15 or 20-year-old salacious, false lies.”
Watch:
Robinson: “We are taking CNN to task for what they have done to us. We are going after them…”
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 23, 2024
pic.twitter.com/k0NSWzT12a
Earlier, Robinson posted this to the Twitter/X machine, vowing to "leave no stone unturned" in holding "CNN accountable for perpetrating these lies":
I am in the process of retaining aggressive legal counsel to investigate who did this and how; we will leave no stone unturned, and will use every legal means to hold CNN accountable for perpetrating these lies.
— Mark Robinson (@markrobinsonNC) September 23, 2024
I am not backing down, the future of North Carolina depends on it.… pic.twitter.com/Lb9xuvF5Au
Regarding the campaign staff departures, Robinson said in the same interview that he was in the process of bringing in new staff members and felt confident they would help propel him to victory in November.
As we've documented before, Robinson has had a meteoric rise in NC politics since a gun rights speech he gave to a city council in 2018 as a private citizen went viral. But he has had an uphill battle against his Democrat opponent, NC Attorney General Josh Stein, since becoming the Republican nominee in March, trailing him in most polls including some showing him behind by double digits.
North Carolina voters of course will be the ones who ultimately decide Robinson's political fate. But if history is a reliable indicator, the Lt. Gov. will not be one to go down without a fight.
Flashback: Mark Robinson Triggers Democrats During House Hearing on Election Laws
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