Mark Robinson, embattled Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, has emerged in popularity among the Republican Party, touting him as the candidate for governor in the 2024 election. His political career characterizes one controversy after another that made him enjoy the confidence and criticism of different groups of people. Recently, he has been in the midst of a scandal with the revelation that he posted inflammatory comments about himself as a “black Nazi” on a pornography website.
Early life and rise into politics
Born August 18th, 1968 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Robinson came up in less than ideal circumstances: domestic violence and poverty. One of ten children, he spent part of his childhood in foster care before returning to live with his mother, who worked as a custodian. After graduating from Grimsley High School, Robinson served in the Army Reserve and later attended North Carolina A&T State University. He worked in furniture manufacturing before entering politics.
Robinson burst onto the national scene in 2018-after a video of him went viral, defending gun rights at a city council meeting. That propelled him into political stardom; he eventually cruised into the lieutenant governorship in 2020. North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor, Robinson has remained in position as a hard-core conservative on such issues as gun rights and education reform.
Fights of controversial statements and scandals
His career as a politician has also been pretty contentious. Throughout the years, Robinson has made inflammatory remarks about different groups: the LGBTQ+ community, women in general, and many civil rights leaders. His comments have been full of derogatory language which has outraged a great many voters.
CNN, in a report in September 2024, said that Robinson wrote a number of shocking things on a pornographic message board between 2008 and 2012. Using the username “minisoldr,” he identified himself as a “black Nazi” and also called for a return to slavery. The revelation has cast deep question marks over his candidacy, with several people calling for him to withdraw from the race.
In addition to his self-description as a “black Nazi,” Robinson has uttered such sentiments as referring to Martin Luther King Jr. by derogatory names and saying he would have joined the Ku Klux Klan had they accepted Black people into their membership. Comments such as these have garnered him much criticism and make for an interesting campaign.
Political implications
But it’s not just his personal reputation that has taken a hit from Robinson’s controversial comments – they also threaten to tarnish the broader Republican Party in North Carolina. And with new polling showing him behind Democratic opponent Josh Stein, there are growing concerns among GOP officials that a Robinson candidacy may be toxic enough to hurt other conservative candidates down the ballot.
Former President Donald Trump gave an early endorsement to Robinson during his campaign, describing him as “Martin Luther King on steroids.” According to the latest reports, after this latest scandal, the Trump campaign is pushing Robinson to exit the race so as not to further hurt their chances for victory.
Challenges notwithstanding, Robinson remains defiant. He has publicly denied making the statements attributed to him on the pornographic website, claiming they were fabricated or taken out of context. Comparing his situation to that of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during the latter’s tumultuous confirmation hearings, he framed his situation as an attempt to undermine his character in response to the allegations.
