The DNC is paying for billboards in NC highlighting Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s connections with former President Donald Trump.
Former President Donald Trump returns to the battleground state of North Carolina Wednesday making an appearance in Mint Hill. Trump will again be campaigning without Republican gubernatorial nominee Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, though many voters will be reminded of the close relationship the two men once shared.
As Trump makes his second trip to North Carolina in five days, Democrats are placing an additional 12 billboards in English and Spanish in cities across the state highlighting Trump’s strong words endorsing Robinson.
“We have to cherish Mark” and “He’s an outstanding person” reads one such billboard.
Robinson, who the president once called “MLK on steroids,” has been struggling to stabilize his gubernatorial campaign following a CNN investigative report that tied Robinson to explicit comments on a pornography website in which he allegedly referred to himself as a “black NAZI” and a “perv” writing that “slavery is not bad.”
“There’s a reason why Donald Trump has not rescinded his endorsement of Mark Robinson: Trump believes that Robinson is an ‘incredible gentleman’ who shares Trump’s extremist values and his shameful history of spewing hate, conspiracy theories, and election denialism,” said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Kenny Palmer in a statement. “Unfortunately for Trump, North Carolinians are tired of MAGA Republicans’ chaos and vitriol and will reject Trump and Robinson’s dangerous vision for their state.”
Trump trails Vice President Kamala Harris by one point in the latest Elon University poll released this week. Harris was favored by 46 percent of respondents, compared with 45 percent for Trump. Four percent said they were undecided.
With a margin that close, Trump cannot likely afford the distraction that has enveloped the Robinson campaign in recent days.
Still, four of the 12 new billboards featuring the two men will be in Mint Hill as the president prepares to speak at the Mosack Group at 1:00pm. The company manufactures and supplies plumbing products.
New legal counsel and new calls for Robinson to prove the allegations are false
The 56-year-old Robinson has no public events listed on his campaign webpage for Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Robinson announced that the Binnall Law Group had been hired and would “use every legal means to hold CNN accountable for their lies.”
From left to right: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee appeared with Mark Robinson along with Gov. Henry McMaster and Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Republican National Convention. (Screengrab from Facebook)
Several senior campaign staff members resigned from the campaign on Sunday.
By Monday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee pulled their endorsements.
Both Kemp and Lee shared a photo with Robinson at the Republican National Convention two months prior.
The Tennessean reports that Gov. Lee cancelled a fundraiser for Robinson that had been scheduled for this week.
NC Newsline previously reported the Republican Governors’ Association has halted ad spending in the state.
Hal Weatherman, the Republican nominee hoping to replace Robinson as North Carolina’s next Lt. Governor, said Robinson must use all his energy to conclusively prove the allegations are not true.
“But if he fails to do so, he will lose, because the comments being attributed to him are highly disturbing. His entire campaign strategy should be focused on proving the allegations false. During this process I and the other Republican candidates need to stay focused on winning our own races,” said Weatherman.
The Elon poll that showed Trump down by one percent to Harris also showed Robinson 14 points behind Attorney General Josh Stein, his Democratic opponent in the governor’s race.