‘I’m a black Nazi’: Who is Mark Robinson and why is he ‘damaging’ for Trump?
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Will Trump’s old endorsement of a man who allegedly said he’d prefer Hitler to Obama as president cost him the swing state of North Carolina, and in turn the entire election?
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In brief…
- Comments made on a porn website allegedly by Mark Robinson, who is running for governor in North Carolina, have come back to bite the Republican.
- Donald Trump has previously endorsed Robinson, comparing him to Martin Luther King.
- This could be “damaging” for Trump as North Carolina is a swing state, The News Agents say.
What’s the story?
“In a land where weird shit happens the whole time, things just got weirder”, says Emily.
If you haven’t heard of Mark Robinson before, maybe you hear see how Emily describes the man standing to be North Carolina governor.
“His name is Mark Robinson, and he has had to face the press and deny calling himself a black Nazi, a pervert, and saying he'd prefer Hitler to Obama as president.”
These all came from comments allegedly made on a pornography website before he entered politics, CNN revealed.
Robinson wrote about how he would like to see a return to slavery and that he would buy a few slaves himself, given the opportunity.
Now, the gubernatorial candidate has hired Jesse Binnall, a Trump-aligned lawyer to go after the outlet which broke the story.
But while he has “come out fighting”, denying he made the claims, Jon notes that this won’t be easy as “his entire team of staff have now abandoned him, they've literally all just left.”
Why does this matter?
North Carolina, where Robinson is running, has become a swing state. Not only is he running, but Robinson is near the top of the ticket.
“Why this matters is that Donald Trump has embraced him”, Jon points out.
Not just endorsed, but likened him to Martin Luther King.
Trump said at a rally: “This is Martin Luther King on steroids…I told that to Mark, I said you’re Martin Luther King times two.”
But what will Donald Trump do now that this information about Robinson has come out?
And could this “cost Donald Trump dearly?”, Jon asks.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance has said: “The allegations are pretty far out there, of course, but I know the allegations aren't necessarily reality.
“What I'd say is it's ultimately up to Mark Robinson in North Carolina whether he's going to be their governor and whether he wants to stay in the race. I'll let them make that decision.”
Emily says this tells us something nuanced about the relationship between Vance and Trump.
She says: “We've seen in the past how Vance keeps getting it wrong. He'll come out with a statement, and then Trump will just flat deny it or sort of contradict him.
“And so I think Vance is doing this shadow box behind Trump going: ‘Well, I'm basically waiting to see if Trump distances himself, and if he does, then obviously I will. But if he doesn't, and if he doubles down, then obviously I will.’”
What’s The News Agents’ take?
“This is damaging”, says Jon.
“Remember, before Kamala Harris entered the race, before Joe Biden had pulled out, North Carolina was seen as an absolutely done deal for the Republicans.
“Donald Trump wasn't spending any money in North Carolina advertising. It was a safe Republican state.”
But now, with Harris having entered the race, that has all changed.
Jon adds: “You've got Mark Robinson running for governor, so he's just below Trump, and Harris on the long ticket of people to vote for. He is going to cost the Republicans dearly.”
Emily says this story seems to have come at a “critical moment”.
“We should remember we are now 40 days out. We are six weeks away from the election, and in some states…early voting has already started.
And when you look at how tight the polls are, with Trump currently ahead of Harris in North Carolina, perhaps this could tip the scales in the Democrats’ favour.”
Listen in full on The News Agents USA.
