Mark Robinson was once considered Donald Trump’s political protégé. But the racism scandals surrounding the black politician do not stop. Trump is probably pulling the emergency brake.
Before the US elections on November 5th, the race in the seven so-called swing states is particularly hotly contested. Only a few votes can be decisive in those US states that are traditionally neither clearly assigned to the Republican nor the Democratic camp. In one of these states, North Carolina, an ardent supporter of Donald Trump is now putting the Republican presidential candidate under pressure.
Mark Robinson, the North Carolina Republican candidate for governor, has made headlines for several inflammatory and racist social media posts from 2014 to 2019. This is reported by the British “The Guardian”. In a post on Facebook, he suggested that people who cannot care for their children should be sterilized, writing: “#haveyourdeadbeatsspayedandneutered” (in German “Have your failures castrated and sterilized”).
Many of his social media posts portray Black families and Black culture in a derogatory manner, including calling Black men “weak-willed.” In another post, he blames “failure men, the whorish women they procreate with, and the undisciplined children they produce” for what he sees as the failures of African-American culture.
As early as September, Robinson was confronted with some racist comments that he was said to have written on pornographic platforms through research by the US broadcaster CNN. Among other things, he described himself as a “Black Nazi” and advocated the reintroduction of slavery. Read more about this here. Robinson is said to have made these comments between 2008 and 2012. The Republican also rejects these allegations.
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In light of these scandals, most Republicans have probably already written off the race for governor in North Carolina. Robinson is currently trailing Democratic candidate Josh Stein in polls. What worries Republicans more is the potential impact of reports of Robinson’s racist comments on the presidential election.
In view of this, Donald Trump has already been forced to distance himself from Robinson. In North Carolina, voting is already possible at polling stations or by postal vote. Earlier this week, Trump did not want to comment on the elections in the state or on candidate Robinson: “I’m not familiar with the state of the race at the moment,” he told the US newspaper “Politico”. He didn’t see it.
Robinson was previously considered one of Trump’s most supported Republicans. Trump called the far-right politician a “friend,” “one of the hottest politicians in the United States of America” and “better than Martin Luther King.” Robinson also spoke at the Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee and at several of Donald Trump’s campaign events. However, there has been no joint appearance since mid-August.
North Carolina on the east coast of the USA is considered a conservative state. Winning it in November would be a tough job for the Democrats: The last time a Democratic candidate won in North Carolina was Barack Obama in 2008. In the state, the Democrats are relying primarily on young voters, among whom Harris’ entry into the race has sparked new interest in the election. The scandals surrounding Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson could also damage Trump and give the Democrats more votes.