New billboards, lost advertising and a race too close to call • NC Newsline

Former President Donald Trump returns to the battleground state of North Carolina on Wednesday with an appearance in Mint Hill. Trump will once again campaign without Republican gubernatorial candidate Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, although many voters will be reminded of the close relationship the two men once enjoyed.

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 to highlight Trump's strong words in support of Robinson.

“We must appreciate Mark” and “He is an outstanding human being,” reads one such billboard.

Robinson, whom the president once described as “MLK on steroids,” struggled to stabilize his gubernatorial campaign after a CNN investigative report linked Robinson to explicit comments on a pornography website in which he allegedly referred to himself as a “black NAZI.” “ was a “pervert” who writes that “slavery is not bad.”

“There's a reason Donald Trump hasn't withdrawn his support for Mark Robinson: Trump believes Robinson is an 'incredible gentleman' who shares Trump's extremist values ​​and his shameful history of spreading hate, conspiracy theories and election denial,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Kenny Palmer in a statement. “Unfortunately for Trump, North Carolinians are fed up with the chaos and evil of MAGA Republicans and will reject Trump and Robinson’s dangerous vision for their state.”

In the latest Elon University poll released this week, Trump is one point behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris was favored by 46 percent of respondents, compared to 45 percent for Trump. Four percent said they were undecided.

With such a narrow lead, Trump probably can't afford the distraction that has characterized Robinson's campaign in recent days.

Still, four of the 12 new billboards featuring the two men will be installed in Mint Hill as the president prepares to speak at the Mosack Group at 1 p.m. The company produces and supplies sanitary products.

New legal counsel and new demands on Robinson to prove the allegations are false

Robinson, 56, has no public events listed on his campaign page for Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Robinson announced that Binnall Law Group had been discontinued and would “use all legal means to hold CNN accountable for its lies.”