Is Mark Robinson a GOP fluke or an inevitability of MAGA conservatism?

Revelations about the North Carolina Republican's porn forum comments are shocking, but for those who've followed the gubernatorial candidate's career in politics, they're not necessarily a surprise

Mark Robinson, Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina and candidate for Governor, delivers remarks prior to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on August 14, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina
Robinson has a documented history of making racist and bigoted remarks about Jewish people, women and the LGBTQ+ community
(Image credit: Grant Baldwin / Getty Images)

The allegations were salacious. The fallout, immediate.

It's been just days since CNN published a deeply reported story detailing the wildly offensive comments allegedly left on an adult website's message board by North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson. In that short time, the state's already-contentious 2024 governor's race has been upended, as strategists from both parties scramble to recalibrate with less than two months until election day. Robinson, currently serving as North Carolina's Lieutenant Governor, has denied the allegations that he called himself a "black Nazi" who endorsed slavery, describing CNN's report as "tabloid trash" while vowing to remain in the race against Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.