Harris Campaign denounces Trump’s denial of Robinson

Kamala Harris’ campaign has scaled back following former President Donald Trump’s refusal to answer whether he would withdraw his support for Mark Robinson, the Republican Party’s gubernatorial candidate, who was embroiled in a scandal after a CNN report had a history of controversial comments on pornography described in forums from accounts associated with him.

On Thursday, the former president spoke to reporters at a news conference in Trump Tower on a wide range of topics, including the migrant crisis, the war in Ukraine, and even addressed the indictment of New York Mayor Eric Adams. He notably made no mention of North Carolina’s gubernatorial candidate, who earned Trump’s coveted endorsement in March.

As he left the stage, a reporter asked if he planned to withdraw his endorsement from the lieutenant governor. Trump responded “I don’t know the situation” before quickly walking away and answering another reporter’s question.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

The CNN report revealed a long backlog of explicit comments from accounts associated with the lieutenant governor, including one in which the poster identified himself as a “black NAZI!”

Robinson has vehemently denied the reports, calling the comments “salacious gossip lies.” In the days since the report’s release, Robinson has seen both campaign staff and office staff resign.

The Harris campaign, which is eager to tie the former president to the beleaguered lieutenant governor in a key swing state, quickly responded to the comment. “It is impossible to believe that Donald Trump somehow missed the news that his handpicked candidate for governor called himself a ‘Nazi,’” Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement to the Daily Beast.

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“Trump has been to North Carolina twice since the news broke and still stands by Robinson, even though the people who know Robinson best are abandoning him,” Moussa said.

Although Robinson has appeared at Trump rallies in the past, he did not appear at the Republican candidate’s rallies on September 20 in Wilmington and Wednesday in Mint Hill.

Robinson has attended Trump events in the past — on August 21, he attended another speech the former president gave in Asheboro, North Carolina, and even got a shout-out from the stage. “Mark Robinson, he’s out there. He’s fighting. He’s fighting. He is amazing,” according to a transcript of the event published by Roll Call.