Former President Donald Trump has heaped praise on North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in his bid for the governor’s mansion.
But when asked Thursday if he’d be dropping his support of Robinson in light of the candidate’s porn site scandal, Trump suddenly had nothing to say.
“I don’t know the situation,” Trump said when a reporter asked about pulling his endorsement. He then walked away.
Revelations about Robinson’s online conduct have dominated headlines since CNN released a bombshell report on the candidate last week. It’s unlikely that Trump, who reportedly watched around eight hours of TV news a day when he was president, truly knows nothing about the outrage surrounding the man he once called “one of the great stars” of the Republican party.
Robinson, according to CNN, revealed on an adult website that he enjoys transgender porn, despite expressing many anti-trans viewpoints on the campaign trail and characterizing transgender people as perverts sneaking into bathrooms. The report also found the candidate admitted in comments that he’d secretly watched naked women in gym showers when he was a teenager.
In another comment, Robinson allegedly said he didn’t care about a celebrity’s abortion, adding: “I just wanna see the sex tape!” In public, Robinson has regularly called abortion “murder,” said he’d sign a six-week ban and, in recordings leaked by an opposition group earlier this month, revealed he’d actually like to see a “zero”-week ban.
On the porn site, Robinson also referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, CNN found.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said it was absurd to believe Trump wasn’t up to speed on the Robinson scandal.
“Trump has been to North Carolina twice since the news broke and is still standing by Robinson, even as the people who know Robinson best are abandoning him,” spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement.
Robinson has both denounced reporting on his posts as “lies” and has also admitted the posts “possibly happened.” A wave of senior staffers on his campaign have resigned in the wake of the scandal.
Before CNN’s report, Trump regularly lauded Robinson as an “outstanding person,” a “friend,” “the Braveheart of our time” and “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
“You have to cherish him. It’s like a fine wine,” Trump said of Robinson in December.
The GOP presidential nominee was an early backer of Robinson’s campaign, held a fundraiser for him at Mar-a-Lago and gave him a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention.
Shortly after the scandal broke, Trump’s campaign said any reports he was planning to drop his endorsement of Robinson were false and that he’s “focused on winning the White House and saving the country.”
