As North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson finds himself under fire for lewd and racist comments he allegedly made on a pornography website more than a decade ago, Republicans have gone to great lengths to avoid condemning him.
While Robinson has repeatedly denied the comments — which included things like “I’m a black NAZI!” and “Slavery is not bad,” in addition to graphic sexual remarks — reporting by CNN and Politico has linked the account to his email address and an IP address close to his home.
The remarks would be disturbing coming from anyone. But they’re particularly disturbing coming from a man who is asking voters to elect him governor of our state. Yet his fellow Republicans have largely avoided criticizing Robinson outright.
In fact, they’ve gone to some ridiculous lengths to not declare the obvious, or to dismiss the allegations altogether. A sad sampling:
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance
— In response to a reporter: “I don’t not believe him, I don’t believe him. I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion.”
— In a post on X: “My comment on Mark Robinson is that Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote on the Inflation Explosion Act and because of that a lot of Americans can’t afford groceries,” Vance posted on social media.
— At a campaign event in North Carolina on Monday: “A sex scandal in North Carolina is between the lieutenant governor and the people of North Carolina.” (Of course, this is not exactly a “sex scandal.” When the nominee for governor describes himself as a “Nazi” and a “perv,” praises Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and makes creepy comments about spying on teenage girls in locker rooms, it’s worthy of a public condemnation.)
U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, GOP nominee for state attorney general
— In a post on X: “… As a matter of law, any decisions about how to proceed in the Governor’s race rest solely with Mark and are between him and the people of North Carolina.”
— At a Donald Trump rally in Wilmington: ”Democrats suddenly abandoned their aversion to hack and dump, rolled out a meticulously timed and coordinated character assassination and then moved immediately to smear by association.”
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis
— Has called on Robinson to disprove the allegations and take legal action if they are indeed false, but declined to say specifically whether he still plans to vote for Robinson, saying “how I vote is less relevant than what I am focused on.”
— To CNN on Tuesday: “If Mr. Robinson doesn’t put forth facts as part of a lawsuit that would discredit the sources by the end of this week then we’ve got to move on. We’ve got an election that’s 40 days away. We’ve got to move on and focus on President Trump’s success in North Carolina, legislative races, the council of state.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Budd
— Told CNN on Monday that while the allegations are “very disturbing,” he still plans to vote for Robinson because Republicans always “have the best platform.”
Lt. Gov. candidate Hal Weatherman at least acknowledged that the remarks themselves were “highly disturbing,” but he also ignored CNN’s overwhelming evidence that the words were Robinson’s and instead called on him to prove his innocence. Other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, have also called on Robinson to reassure the public that the allegations are false. But in the event that he fails to do so, will they change their tune?
Here’s how it should be done: U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney called the remarks “outrageous, disgusting, vile” and called on Robinson to withdraw:
“His efforts to say it wasn’t him need to show a good deal more substance than just saying ‘It’s not me’ and suggesting that somehow AI put this together,” Romney said. “It’s just not credible, and for the good of his state, his party and and Republican prospects in the state, he has to step aside.”
See? It’s easy. When something is awful, just say so. But NC Republicans can’t bring themselves to do it. It’s exactly the kind of political cowardice that led to Robinson’s ascension in the first place.
— The Charlotte Observer