Attorney General Josh Stein (left) and Lt. Governor Mark Robinson (right). (Courtesy photos)
Following Thursday’s reports of controversial online comments that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson made in years before he took office, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein on Friday called the North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee “unfit” and “unqualified” to lead the state.
“I don’t think he ever should have run. He is unfit, unsuitable, unqualified to be governor,” Stein said. “You cannot talk about other human beings the way he does and lead an entire state.”
Stein was responding to questions from reporters about whether Robinson should withdraw from the race. Stein said that Robinson “never should have run,” pointing to his divisive rhetoric toward various groups.
“He has called himself a Nazi. He’s called himself a conspiracy theorist,” Stein said. “I don’t want to lift up and give him a broader voice. He can go out there and try to talk to voters all he wants. It’s not my job to normalize a candidate who is not normal,” Stein said, explaining his decision not to debate Robinson.
According to news reports, Robinson referred to himself as a “black NAZI,” a “perv” and said “slavery is not bad” in messages posted on a pornography website more than a decade ago.
In a video posted to social media Thursday afternoon, Robinson denied the reports and blamed the “news media” and his opponent for what he called “outrageous lies” and “tabloid trash.”
“Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” he said. “You know my words, you know my character and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before.”
“In this race right now, my opponent is desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with, to salacious tabloid trash. We cannot allow that to happen.”
Asked by reporters whether his campaign was responsible for the leaks, Stein said, he read the “salacious details yesterday for the first time; it was beyond the pale.”
Stein made the comments Thursday after addressing the North Carolina State AFL-CIO annual convention where he sought to contrast his vision for the state with that of Robinson.
During his speech, Stein criticized Robinson’s history of inflammatory comments about public school teachers, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women.