Mark Robinson says alleged comments in CNN report won’t hurt his 2024 election chances
Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on Thursday said he doesn’t think sexually explicit and racist comments attributed to him in a CNN report last month will hurt his chances at being elected governor.
Robinson, who denies he made the posts and recently announced a lawsuit was filed against CNN over the report, told The Charlotte Observer at a meet and greet in south Charlotte that the comments posted on the website Nude Africa are ”ridiculous.” And while Robinson has repeatedly said the comments were not made by him, he specifically condemned the content of the comments on Thursday.
The comments included Robinson saying he was a Black Nazi and that he wished slavery would return, CNN reported.
“Yes, I condemn the comments,” Robinson said when asked. “I mean, as a matter of fact, the comments were ridiculous. Some of the stuff that I read that I supposedly said on this site are just nonsense. And so of course we condemn those comments.”
He called CNN a “dishonest news organization” and that “many people, including a great number of independents,” have no faith in news outlets. CNN reported it found multiple online accounts under the same email address used on Nude Africa and noted connections between the comments and Robinson’s other online activity.
Robinson has a history of making controversial remarks, including on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, Jewish people and Black Lives Matter. In 2019, a Facebook video showed Robinson saying that abortion is not about protecting women but rather killing children because “you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
Recent polls show Attorney General Josh Stein polling between 10-20 points ahead of Robinson, while the race for president is much tighter in the battleground state.
Robinson spoke to the Observer at a meet and greet event at Victory Christian Center Campus III where he addressed a room of around 10 people after arriving 30 minutes late. Robinson said he wasn’t concerned about the low turnout.
“I kind of like smaller groups. We did this kind of quickly. It wasn’t something that we organized for months,” he said. ”We’re certainly not discouraged by the size at all. We love how people can go out and be emissaries for us and give people a more in depth view of actually who we are.”
Matt Hurley, a new addition to Robinson’s campaign team after most of his former staff quit, said he has a big philosophy change for the campaign: instead of keeping Robinson “locked up,” he wants to let Robinson speak to more people including news media. The event at Victory Christian Center Campus, Hurley said, was an attempt at outreach to the Black community.
Robinson spoke to the group about education, Hurricane Helene relief, state agencies and more, before taking questions from attendees.
“The size may look small, but there’s people behind you,” one attendee told Robinson at the end of his speech. “Don’t be moved by what you see We’re behind you. We’re praying for you.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 4:03 PM.
