Less than 24 hours later CNN published a bombshell report according to said comments Mark RobinsonNorth Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, the Democratic National Committee, has released new ads linking him to former President Donald Trump on a pornographic website.
The DNC plans to launch a new digital ad and dozens of billboards highlighting Trump’s praise of Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, according to a source familiar with the matter and DNC regional press secretary Kenny Palmer. NBC News was the first to report the new ad push.
By linking Trump to Robinson, Democrats hope to chip away at Trump’s support in a state where a Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won since 2008.
North Carolina could be decisive in a close presidential race, and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, said it would be “very difficult” for his ticket to win in November if Democrats flip North Carolina.
The DNC’s ads will begin on Friday. Digital ads will target North Carolina voters on YouTube and Facebook, the source said, adding that the billboards will be plastered in battleground cities, Palmer said in a news release.
A source familiar with the matter said television ads aimed at linking Trump to Robinson are “definitely on the table.” The source added that nothing is being locked down.
The billboard design features a photo of Trump and Robinson posing together, quotes from Trump saying about Robinson, “we have to cherish Mark,” and Robinson being “remarkable” and an “incredible gentleman.”
Digital ads echo similar sentiments, the source said.
The Trump and Robinson campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Democrats’ attempt to link the two men through the ads.
The CNN story has been published On Thursday, Robinson detailed a series of racist and anti-Semitic comments he made on the pornography website’s message board. Robinson called the allegations “tabloid garbage” in a video released before the story was published.
CNN said Robinson’s comments were made between 2008 and 2012, and included a self-proclaimed “black Nazi” who claimed “slavery wasn’t bad” and wished they would “bring it back.”
CNN reports that Robinson also said he would have called Martin Luther King Jr. a racial slur if he had been in the Ku Klux Klan. in March, Trump called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
“I told Mark that. I said, “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King twice,” Trump said at a rally in Greensboro, endorsing Robinson for governor.
Robinson was elected lieutenant governor in 2020 and he swore stay in the gubernatorial race.
There is Trump many compliments About Robinson, he called him “outstanding” and “One of the hottest politicians.” He said Robinson “became my friend.” Robinson also spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer.
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement: “Donald Trump and Mark Robinson are two MAGA extremists cut from the same cloth. Both are anti-choice radicals, election deniers, and have a long and troubling history of spreading hate. Make no mistake: Trump has embraced Robinson at every turn.”
A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign issued a statement after the story broke, though it did not mention Robinson or CNN’s alleged comments.
“President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country. North Carolina is an important part of that plan,” spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said. “We are confident that as voters compare Trump’s record of a strong economy, low inflation, secure borders and safe streets to the failures of Biden-Harris, then President Trump will win the Tarheel State again. We will not accept that. Our eye is off the ball.”
The Harris campaign’s X account posted more than half the time Trump and Robinson combined in the hours after the CNN story broke. The posts include clips of Trump praising Robinson at rallies, shaking his hand and taking pictures together.
Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020 with 49.9% of the vote to Joe Biden’s 48.6%. Democrats are down to zero in North Carolina condition to convert In November, Harris will give his campaign 16 voters, which could be decisive.
DNC spokesman Abhi Rahman noted in a text message that the state “used to be competitive and Republican extremism is front and center in this state — from Trump to Robinson to down-ballot candidates.”
Democrats swung millions of dollars Harris and made advertising expenses to the state multiple parking lots State for rallies this month. Two Harris rallies in North Carolina last week drew a combined attendance of about 25,000.
A Survey at Quinnipiac University A survey this month found Harris with 49% of likely voters, and Trump with 46%. The results were within the poll’s margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.