NC candidate said he was 'Black Nazi' on porn site
North Carolina GOP governor nominee Mark Robinson made a series of disturbing comments on a message board

What happened
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, posted racist and sexist comments on a pornography site forum, including identifying himself as a "Black Nazi," CNN said on Thursday. An email address CNN used to confirm Robinson's porn account was also registered on Ashley Madison, a website for married people seeking affairs, Politico said. Robinson rejected calls to drop out of the race against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein.
Who said what
CNN said it was disclosing "only a small portion" of Robinson's comments from 2008 to 2012 on the site "Nude Africa," due to their "graphic nature." But it did record him saying "slavery is not bad" and "I wish they would bring it back"; admitting he liked to watch "tranny on girl porn"; and claiming he would "take Hitler over any of the shit that's in Washington" during Barack Obama's presidency.
Robinson told CNN "these are not our words" or "anything that is characteristic of me." Presented with the "litany of evidence connecting him" with the account, CNN said, Robinson said he wouldn't "get into the minutia of how somebody manufactured this, these salacious tabloid lies." The problem for Robinson is the comments "sound extremely similar to what he's said elsewhere," David Graham said at The Atlantic, and his frequenting of a porn site doesn't "stretch incredulity" after a report this month found he frequented porn shops in the 1990s and 2000s.
Donald Trump, who enthusiastically endorsed Robinson in March, has "foisted damaging candidates on the GOP" for years, Aaron Blake said at The Washington Post, but for once it could cause a "real problem for Trump personally," turning off voters in a crucial state he barely won in 2020 and is up for grabs this year.
What next?
Yesterday was the final day to withdraw from the race before ballots are printed, The Raleigh News & Observer said. So "Republicans now appear to be stuck with Robinson," The Atlantic's Graham said. "They can't say they weren't warned."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
August 17 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include voting rights of felons, misdirection on the way to the Alaska summit, and more
-
5 crime-ridden cartoons about National Guard deployment in DC
Cartoons Artists take on the crime of littering, the real criminals in DC, and more
-
Trump and Modi: the end of a beautiful friendship?
In the Spotlight Harsh US tariffs designed to wrest concessions from Delhi have been condemned as 'a new form of imperialism'
-
Trump and Modi: the end of a beautiful friendship?
In the Spotlight Harsh US tariffs designed to wrest concessions from Delhi have been condemned as 'a new form of imperialism'
-
It is 'beyond time for us to seek bipartisan solutions' for Afghanistan
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Man charged for hoagie attack as DC fights takeover
Speed Read The Trump administration filed felony charges against a man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent
-
Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
-
'E-bikes have made our lives more complicated'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The NCAA is a 'billion-dollar sports behemoth' that 'should not be a nonprofit'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump picks conservative BLS critic to lead BLS
speed read He has nominated the Heritage Foundation's E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
-
Trump takes over DC police, deploys National Guard
Speed Read The president blames the takeover on rising crime, though official figures contradict this concern