North Carolina’s embattled Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, is not expected to appear with Donald Trump at a rally in Wilmington on Saturday, The Wilmington Star-News reported.
Robinson’s absence comes after a bombshell report from CNN which revealed that prior to entering politics, he regularly commented on an internet pornography site calling himself a “black NAZI” and “a perv too.” The internet comments also reportedly showed that Robinson enjoyed watching pornography featuring transgender women despite him publicly calling gender transition “a sickening image of rebellion to glorify Satan.”
The Republican has vehemently denied making those comments, and appeared to suggest that artificial intelligence was responsible.
“Look, I’m not going to get into the minutiae of how somebody manufactured these salacious tabloid lies,” he said. “But I can tell you this: there’s been more than $1 million spent on me with AI by a billionaire’s son who’s bound and determined to destroy me.”
The Independent has contacted the campaigns for both Robinson and Trump for comment on the rally.
Trump has endorsed Robinson for governor and previously said he was like the legendary civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, “on steroids”. The Republican presidential candidate has yet to comment on the scandal.
Trump will appear in Wilmington on Saturday afternoon as he attempts to keep hold of North Carolina, a state he won in the past two presidential elections. Earlier this week, Senator JD Vance held a rally in Raleigh, where Robinson was also absent.
Robinson will appear at the Fayetteville Motor Speedway later on Saturday evening, according to The Fayetteville Observer.
Polling shows Robinson significantly trailing Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, who has gained support from Trump voters.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has sought to link Robinson and Trump. On Friday, the Harris campaign released an ad showing Trump telling Robinson: “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King”. It also highlighted some of Robinson’s inflammatory comments including saying that abortion is “about killing a child because you aren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”