Trump ally allegedly claimed to be a black Nazi – DW – 20.09.2024

The Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina announced on Friday that he would remain in office after it was revealed that he had posted strongly worded racist and sexually explicit comments in an online forum.

The swing state is expected to have an influential impact in November's White House race between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris.

What Robinson allegedly said

Mark Robinson said he would not be pressured into resigning by “salacious tabloid lies” after his comments on a porn website's message board were reported over a decade ago.

Robinson, the incumbent lieutenant governor who clearly won the Republican gubernatorial primary in March, was trailing current Attorney General and Democratic candidate Josh Stein in several recent polls.

A CNN report described a series of racist and sexual comments posted by Robinson on the message board. The US broadcaster reported that Robinson, who would later become the first black governor of North Carolina, had violently attacked civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. on the forum.

According to CNN, he once called himself a “black NAZI.”

CNN added that Robinson wrote about his excitement at remembering “watching” women in gym showers at age 14, as well as his penchant for transgender pornography.

CNN reported that Robinson once called himself a “pervert.”

How the presidential campaigns reacted

The Harris team immediately pointed out the gubernatorial candidate’s ties to her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

In an X-post, Harris' campaign team played a video with clips of Trump praising Robinson and calling him, among other things, “better than Martin Luther King.”

Another photo showed Robinson and Trump together giving Trump's signature thumbs up pose.

In a speech to a group of Jewish donors in Washington, Trump did not comment on the allegations.

His campaign issued a statement on the CNN report that did not mention Robinson, saying Trump was “focused on winning the White House and saving this country” and North Carolina was an “essential part of that plan.”

Robinson's reported comments, including a 2012 remark in which he said he preferred Adolf Hitler to the current U.S. leadership, clashed with Trump's condemnation of anti-Semitism and his claim that Vice President Harris sympathizes with Israel's enemies.

rc/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)