Less than 24 hours after CNN published a sensational report about alleged comments made by North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson on a pornographic website, the Democratic National Committee unveiled new ads linking him to former President Donald Trump.
The DNC plans to launch a new digital ad and nearly a dozen billboards highlighting Trump’s praise for Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, according to a source familiar with the matter and a press release from DNC regional press secretary Kenny Palmer. NBC News was the first outlet to report on the new ad campaign.
By linking Trump and Robinson, Democrats hope to weaken Trump’s support in the state, which no Democratic presidential candidate has won since 2008.
North Carolina could prove crucial in a close presidential race, and Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, has said it will be “very difficult” for him to win in November if Democrats gain the upper hand in North Carolina.
The DNC’s ads will be released Friday. The digital ads will be targeted at North Carolina voters on YouTube and Facebook, the source said, while Palmer said in the release that billboards will be put up in cities across the swing state.
The source familiar with the matter said television ads linking Trump to Robinson were “definitely being discussed.” Nothing is final, the source added.
The billboard features a picture of Trump and Robinson posing together. The billboard includes quotes from Trump about Robinson, such as “We have to appreciate Mark” and that Robinson is “outstanding” and an “incredible gentleman.”
The digital ads reflect similar sentiments, the source said.
Trump and Robinson’s campaign teams did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Democrats’ attempt to link the two men through ads.
The article, published by CNN on Thursday, detailed a series of racist and anti-Semitic comments Robinson allegedly made on a porn website message board. Robinson referred to the allegations as “tabloid garbage” in a video posted before the article was published.
CNN reported that Robinson made the comments between 2008 and 2012, including saying he was a “black NAZI,” claiming “slavery is not bad,” and adding that he wished “they would bring it back.”
Robinson also said that if he were a member of the Ku Klux Klan, he would have called Martin Luther King Jr. a racist slur, CNN reported. In March, Trump called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
“That’s what I told Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you’re Martin Luther King times two,'” Trump said at a rally in Greensboro where he endorsed Robinson for governor.
Robinson was elected lieutenant governor in 2020 and has vowed to stay in the race for governor.
Trump has praised Robinson highly, calling him “outstanding.” “one of the hottest politicians.” He said Robinson had “become a friend of mine.” Robinson also gave a speech at the Republican National Convention that summer.
DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement: “Donald Trump and Mark Robinson are two MAGA extremists cut from the same cloth. Both are radical anti-abortionists, anti-voters, and have a long and disturbing history of spreading hate. Let’s face it: Trump has embraced and tied himself to Robinson at every turn.”
A Trump campaign spokesman issued a statement after the story broke, but did not mention Robinson or the comments alleged by CNN.
“President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country. North Carolina is an essential part of that plan,” spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in the statement. “We are confident that President Trump will win the Tarheel State again as voters compare Trump’s record of a strong economy, low inflation, a secure border and safe streets with the failures of Biden-Harris. We will not take our eye off the ball.”
The Harris campaign’s X-account posted links between Trump and Robinson more than half a dozen times in the hours after the CNN report became public. The posts included clips of Trump praising Robinson and shaking his hand at rallies and the two posing for photos together.
Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, securing 49.9% of the vote compared to 48.6% for Joe Biden. The Democrats are targeting North Carolina as a possible state that could swing the vote in November. Harris’ campaign would then have 16 electoral votes, which could be decisive.
The state “was already contested before, and Republican extremism is pervasive here – from Trump to Robinson to the candidates on the lower ballots,” DNC spokesman Abhi Rahman said in a text message.
Democrats have pumped millions of dollars into the state for advertising, and Harris has held several rallies in the state this month. Two Harris rallies in North Carolina last week drew a total of about 25,000 people.
A Quinnipiac University poll this month found Harris supported by 49 percent of likely voters, while Trump was supported by 46 percent. The results were within the poll’s margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
