'Not getting in the middle of that': Trump rejected request to ask Mark Robinson to drop out
As news was breaking of North Carolina Republican lieutenant governor (and 2024 gubernatorial candidate) Mark Robinson's alleged history of pro-Nazi posts on an adult website, his campaign staff reportedly asked former President Donald Trump to intervene.
However, the Washington Post is now reporting that the former president wasn't eager to convince the candidate he endorsed just months prior to withdraw from the race. An unnamed "Trump ally with knowledge of the exchange" told the publication that when the former president's campaign was approached by Robinson staffers, they were promptly rebuffed.
"The response from Trumpworld: And then what? Overseas and military ballots were due to be sent out the following day, Sept. 20. It was too late to remove Robinson’s name from the ballot," the Post reported. "And who did they have lined up to replace him who would campaign on this message: Cast your vote for Mark Robinson, and that vote will count for me?"
READ MORE: Mark Robinson on track for 'largest defeat in more than 40 years' of any NC gov candidate
“It was dead silence,” the Trump ally recalled to the outlet. “Nobody was going to be willing to do that.”
In March, Trump referred to Robinson as an "unbelievable lieutenant governor" and "Martin Luther King on steroids" during a rally in which he officially gave Robinson his endorsement. He has so far not rescinded his endorsement, even though Robinson is reportedly no longer welcome at his campaign rallies. According to the Post's source, the former president himself did his best to wash his hands of Robinson in private.
“He was like, ‘I’m not getting in the middle of that,’” the Trump ally told the paper.
Trump reportedly became a fan of Robinson after the two spoke face-to-face more than a year ago at the Tar Heel State's 2023 Republican convention. This was a cause for concern among state GOP leaders, who knew that Robinson had a long and troubling history of making incendiary remarks about women, Jewish people, transgender Americans and abortion rights.
READ MORE: Ex-North Carolina GOP gov admits Republican knew Mark Robinson was a 'ticking time bomb'
“The fact of the matter is for over two years, most of us knew this was a ticking time bomb," Pat McCrory – the Republican former governor of North Carolina — told CNN in an interview earlier this week.
Robinson's campaign has been in free fall since CNN's report about his history of posts on the Nude Africa website, in which an account believed to be Robinson's called himself a "Black NAZI," pined for a return to chattel slavery and even said "Mein Kampf is a good read" in a thread about book recommendations. A new CNN/SSRS poll released this week found that Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein holds a 17-point lead over Robinson in the November election. That would be the largest margin of victory for any North Carolina gubernatorial candidate since 1980.
Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).
READ MORE: 'Mein Kampf is a good read': Account linked to Mark Robinson praised Hitler's manifesto
