Sept 22 (Askume) – Four top aides to the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor resigned on Sunday. Three days earlier, CNN reported he had posted comments on a pornographic website describing himself as a “black Nazi” and proposing the restoration of slavery.
Mark Robinson, an African American who declined to comment, announced that his campaign manager, finance director, deputy campaign manager and senior adviser had resigned from the campaign without giving a reason. Robinson is currently serving as lieutenant governor of North Carolina.
The North Carolina governor’s race will have an impact on the presidential election that takes place the same day, Nov. 5. The fate of high-profile candidates there could influence partisan turnout or enthusiasm in the deeply divided battleground state, tipping the election between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
The departure makes Robinson’s campaign even more uncertain with 45 days until the election. He is running against Democratic candidate Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general.
“I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult decision to step down from the campaign, and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors,” Robinson said. “I look forward to welcoming the new staff members as we announce the role on the next day.”
Robinson, 56, who has received support from Trump, has a history of making inflammatory comments, but he has denied making them in recent videos posted on social media and then in an interview with CNN.
“We’re not like that. We don’t say that. I’m not like that,” Robinson told CNN on Friday, claiming someone had fabricated “a dirty tabloid lie.”
CNN said the posts matched Robinson’s social media usernames and email addresses, proposing the reinstatement of slavery, praising Hitler and using abuse against blacks, Jews and Muslims. CNN called other posts “essentially obscene and pornographic.” The posts were from 2008 to 2012, before Robinson entered politics.
Askume was unable to verify the posts, which CNN reported on Saturday had been removed from the porn site.
The North Carolina Republican Party endorsed Robinson in a statement Friday, but Trump, who has previously praised Robinson highly, did not mention him at a campaign rally in Wilmington on Saturday and Robinson did not appear.
