Mark Robinson’s response to state investigation sounds a lot like you-know-who | Opinion

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has a response to the state investigation of his wife’s nonprofit, and it’s straight out of the Donald Trump playbook.

Balanced Nutrition, the nonprofit operated by Robinson’s wife, Yolanda Hill, is under scrutiny for issues regarding its finances and other alleged violations. The state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently found that Balanced Nutrition submitted excess claims for government funding and must pay back $132,000 to the state.

In a recent radio interview, Robinson said that DHHS is “playing a dangerous game” and claimed the agency “is being weaponized” for political purposes.

That sounds a lot like Trump’s protests of various investigations into his alleged crimes, including crimes related to his mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has long said that the Biden administration is weaponizing the justice system as part of a political vendetta, like something out of a “banana republic” or “Stalinist Russia horror show.” He’s framed his legal troubles as a noble crusade against a greater evil, telling supporters, “I’m being indicted for you.”

Much like Trump, Robinson has taken an aggressive stance in claiming the state’s review of Balanced Nutrition is tied to his campaign for governor. “It’s politically driven, we have the evidence to prove it, and we’re going to fight ‘em up to the hilt,” Robinson said.

Robinson dismissed the allegations as “erroneous” and “simply untrue,” but then also seemed to suggest that the situation was “normal.”

“Basically when you’re running a nonprofit that works closely with the government, there’s always room for error,” Robinson said. “Every year, there’s been small audits, there’s been inspections that are by the state, and we have small findings, and then we have a plan of correction. That is a normal business process.”

It’s not a normal business process for a lot of people, but it must be for Robinson. After all, this is not the first time that a business tied to Robinson or his wife has come under scrutiny. He and his wife were cited for numerous violations at a child care center they operated in the early 2000s, including for presenting falsified certification documents to state inspectors. That’s on top of Robinson’s past bankruptcies and failures to pay taxes.

Of course, the business violations occurred long before Robinson ever had a political career, so it’s hard to call that some sort of political conspiracy. Robinson’s campaign said last month that reporting on those violations “is just another attempt by liberals to dig up old news — some of it even by decades — to smear Mark Robinson.”

That’s a common theme in Robinson’s responses: deflecting the blame rather than acknowledging a potential mistake. It’s never just an apology or admission of guilt, even if it was an honest mistake. It’s instead an attack on the people or agencies who dare hold him accountable for it. In Robinson’s eyes, any attempt to hold him accountable for his past or his present is some form of liberal slander. Reporters asking valid questions about his public statements? Government agencies trying to enforce the law? It’s all a conspiracy to Robinson.

Robinson — and Trump — want you to think that government institutions are out to get them. They want you to think that they’re under some sort of siege from political elites, as opposed to being investigated by normal people who are just trying to hold him to the same standards as everyone else. That’s not only insulting to the employees who carry out the mission of those institutions. It’s dangerous.