Mark Robinson vows to stay in the race, calls reports of his porn message board use 'tabloid trash'
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson took to social media to defend himself against a report about inflammatory comments he made on a pornography message board years ago.
Robinson said his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Stein, leaked the details of the story to CNN.
"The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson," he said in a post to social media before CNN published its article Thursday afternoon.
In his statement, Robinson referenced Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' quote about being a victim of a high-tech lynching when he was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill ahead of his Supreme Court confirmation.
Continuing in his statement, Robinson vowed to stay in the race
"We are staying in this race, we are in it to win it," he said.
The CNN article linked Robinson to a username online that made several inflammatory comments. ABC News has not confirmed CNN's reporting or the online username linked to Robinson.
CNN reports that Robinson called himself a "black NAZI!" and revealed a time when he was 14 years old that he peeped on women in the shower. He also reportedly talked about how he liked watching transgender pornography.
Politicians on both sides on the aisle came forward Thursday with reactions to the report about Robinson's previous actions.
Mark Robinson's history of controversial statements
To many critics, Mark Robinson has been a polarizing figure. He has been the lieutenant governor in North Carolina for the past three years and came out of the March 2024 primary as the GOP candidate for governor to run against Stein.
SEE ALSO | Mark Robinson says his 'some folks need killing' comment was taken out of context
Robinson has a long history of inflammatory and controversial comments -- including antisemitic and homophobic rants. He has also been criticized for his comments toward women and his position on abortion. Many of the comments were made years ago but continue to be resurfaced especially since he announced his bid for governor in April.
Thursday, a group billing itself "Republicans for Stein" announced their support for the attorney general. Former GOP state Sen. Richard Stevens and other political figures said they are crossing party lines in part because Robinson's comments, they say, "would hurt the state's ability to attract businesses."
The Assembly, an independent news organization with an office in Greensboro reported a story weeks ago that Robinson was a frequent customer at an adult porn shop. When the Assembly asked him about it, he denied it.
