Ex-North Carolina GOP gov admits Republicans knew Mark Robinson was a 'ticking time bomb'

25 September 2024

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson — who is currently the Republican nominee in this year's gubernatorial race — has recently been embroiled in an embarrassing scandal that could cost Republicans both the governorship and even the Tar Heel State's Electoral College votes.

Now, the Tar Heel State's former governor is saying his party knew better. The Hill reports that Pat McCrory, who was governor for four years between 2013 and 2017, is now suggesting the North Carolina Republican Party was already well-aware that Robinson's extreme positions could jeopardize the 2024 election and risk former President Donald Trump losing the state's 16 electoral votes.

“I got a feeling about a month ago, the Trump campaign was finding out that there could be some dirty laundry on Robinson,” McCrory said on CNN. He reminded viewers that Trump has been “avoiding” Robinson since August.

“The fact of the matter is for over two years, most of us knew this was a ticking time bomb," McCrory added.

According to McCrory, Robinson went from being "the most effective, dynamic, dangerous speaker I’ve ever seen in my political career" to being "dead in the water" with less than two months to go before Election Day. CNN reported in September that Robinson maintained an active presence on the adult website "Nude Africa" in the late aughts and early 2010s, called himself a "Black NAZI" and pined for the United States to return to practicing chattel slavery. In one thread of users asking for book recommendations, the account reported to be Robinson's replied that Adolf Hitler's manifesto was "a good read."

After details of the report began to emerge, Republicans called on Robinson to drop out of the race. However, by the time the report was public, the deadline for Robinson to be removed from the ballot had already passed. The embattled lieutenant governor has hired the Binnall Law Group to look into what he described as "false smears" contained in CNN's reporting, and maintains that the eyebrow-raising posts from the "minisoldr" account on the Nude Africa forum were not written by him.

McCrory noted in his CNN interview that the Tar Heel State is sometimes known for electing governors and presidents from opposing parties. Democratic governor Roy Cooper was elected in 2016 even as a majority of North Carolinians voted for Trump. And even though the state voted for Trump again in 2020, a majority also voted to keep Cooper in the governor's mansion.

“North Carolina has a tradition of ticket-splitting between the presidential races and statewide races, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that ticket-splitting continues,” McCrory said. However, he stressed that even 5,000 or 10,000 voters “could make the difference in all the electoral votes for either Harris or for former President Trump.”

Earlier this year, North Carolina Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley was selected as chairman of the Republican National Committee, while Trump's daughter-in-law Lara (married to Eric Trump) was made co-chair. McCrory said some of the blame for Robinson should be on Whatley, arguing that he should have "given the president fair warning that this guy could be a future dangerous advocate for President Trump."

Trump endorsed Robinson in March at a campaign rally in North Carolina, calling him an "unbelievable lieutenant governor" and describing him as "Martin Luther King on steroids." He has not rescinded his endorsement, though Robinson is reportedly no longer welcome at Trump's rallies in the wake of the report.

Click here to read the Hill's report in full.

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