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| NC GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson |
North Carolina Lt Governor and present GOP state gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson has made a career out of making homophobic, transphobic and all-around bigoted comments. I guess we can consider the following as karma knocking at his door.
From CNN on Thursday:
Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found.
Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a “perv.”
The comments, which Robinson denies making, predate his entry into politics and current stint as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor. They were made under a username that CNN was able to identify as Robinson by matching a litany of biographical details and a shared email address between the two. Many of Robinson’s comments were gratuitously sexual and lewd in nature.
They were made between 2008 and 2012 on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board. The comments were made under the username minisoldr, a moniker Robinson used frequently online.
CNN won't publish some of the comments, but I've seen them circulating on Twitter. Needless to say, I won't be publishing them either. They are vulgar, including a very graphic story of him allegedly having sex (complete with urination) with his wife's sister. It is not known whether or not this encounter happened, but let's just say Robinson can tell a story.
What makes this story even more ironic is the rhetoric Robinson has used in the past against the LGBTQ community. According to GLAAD, Robinson has:
—Called for transgender women to be arrested for using public bathrooms and should instead, “find a corner outside somewhere.”
—Said gender identity issues are bringing the country to “hell’s gates.”
—Misgendered Michelle Obama saying, “Michelle Obama is an anti-American, abortion and gay marriage supporting, liberal leftist elitist and I’ll be glad when he takes his boyfriend and leaves the White House.”
—Wrote that people “who support this mass delusion called transgenderism” are trying “to turn God’s creation backwards, and make it into a sickening image of rebellion to glorify Satan.”
—Described the LGBTQ community as “filth.” Then repeated the insult saying, “Yes, I called it filth.”
The above comments highlight the crux of the controversy for many. Prominent trans activist Charlotte Clymer said the following on X (formerly known as Twitter):
Look, I don't give a damn what any consenting adult is or isn't into. It's none of my business, nor anyone else's. If these are the allegations about to drop, the issue is that Mark Robinson enjoys trans porn while publicly calling for us to be arrested for existing.
And believe it or not, it gets worse for Robinson.
From Politico also on Thursday:
An email address belonging to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was registered on Ashley Madison, a website designed for married people seeking affairs. An adviser to Robinson, granted anonymity to speak freely, confirmed to POLITICO that the email address in question belongs to Robinson.
The discovery of Robinson’s personal email address on Ashley Madison comes as Republicans in North Carolina on Thursday braced for more potentially damaging news about the scandal-prone nominee for governor, whose chances of winning the seat appear increasingly grim. Robinson has recorded an interview with CNN set to air Thursday evening, denying various allegations against him of other online activities, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
On Thursday afternoon, CNN reported that Robinson, whom Donald Trump endorsed, had made “inflammatory comments” on the message board of a pornography website, including that he “enjoyed watching transgender pornography.”
Robinson had already foreshadowed the nature of the allegations CNN would highlight, calling them “salacious tabloid trash” in a video his campaign released Thursday insisting he is remaining in the race and issuing a blanket denial of allegations being brought against him. The campaign published the video as political operatives in North Carolina and around the country were in a frenzy over the forthcoming CNN story.
Robinson has denied it all and say he will stay in the race. However, this scandal has been seen as a blow to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Trump not only endorsed Robinson, but effusively praised him in the past. On one occasion, he publicly referred to Robinson as Martin Luther King Jr on steroids and better than Martin Luther King, Jr. Kamala Harris' campaign has not commented on this except to highlight all of the times Trump has praised Robinson in the past.
North Carolina has been seen as a crucial state for both campaigns in the upcoming election. Robinson was already down in the polls by double digits to the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Stein. The question now becomes if Robinson does not drop out the race, how much damage would it do to Trump's campaign. Or how much damage will be done even if he does drop out.
