CNN
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Donald Trump returns Saturday for a marketing campaign rally in North Carolina, the place the previous president is confronting a large number he performed a key function in making within the crucial battleground state.
The Republican nominee for governor, Mark Robinson – whom Trump has repeatedly in comparison with Martin Luther King Jr. – declined to drop out of the race by Thursday’s deadline, ignoring calls to take action from the NAACP, North Carolina newspaper editorial boards and a few congressional Republicans.
That stress adopted a CNN report detailing his historical past of inflammatory feedback on a porn web site’s message board. Robinson, the present North Carolina lieutenant governor, referred to himself as a “black NAZI,” expressed assist for reinstating slavery, made repeated graphic sexual feedback and extra.
Trump’s Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, launched a new television advertisement Friday tying Trump to Robinson – the primary time the Harris marketing campaign has used an advert to attach the previous president with a down-ballot candidate.
The advert doesn’t point out Robinson’s offensive porn message board feedback, but it surely intersperses Trump’s previous reward for Robinson with a few of the GOP gubernatorial nominee’s anti-abortion feedback, together with Robinson voicing assist for a statewide abortion ban that may not embody exceptions.
It opens with clips of Trump calling Robinson “an unbelievable lieutenant governor” and referring to him as “higher than Martin Luther King,” together with video of Robinson saying, “For me, there isn’t a compromise on abortion” and “We might cross a invoice and say, ‘You’ll be able to’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any purpose.’”
The trouble to attach Trump with Robinson, who polls present is properly behind Democratic Lawyer Basic Josh Stein within the governor’s race, comes because the Harris marketing campaign plots paths to 270 Electoral Faculty votes that would embody 4 Solar Belt states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
Trump defeated Joe Biden by 1 level in North Carolina in 2020. However polls have proven a good race between Harris and Trump this yr. The previous president’s path again to the White Home would turn into way more tough with out the state’s 16 electoral votes.
In an announcement to CNN following Thursday’s KFile reporting, Trump marketing campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt mentioned: “President Trump’s marketing campaign is targeted on profitable the White Home and saving this nation. North Carolina is an very important a part of that plan. We’re assured that as voters examine the Trump file of a powerful economic system, low inflation, a safe border, and protected streets, with the failures of Biden-Harris, then President Trump will win the Tar Heel State as soon as once more. We is not going to take our eye off the ball.”
The Trump marketing campaign had not invited Robinson to the previous president’s rally Saturday in Wilmington.
Nonetheless, the lieutenant governor has been to most, if not all, of Trump’s current North Carolina occasions. Final month, Robinson spoke on the former president’s economy-themed rally in Asheville, and Trump introduced him onstage in Asheboro.
At a marketing campaign rally in Greensboro in March, Trump recalled listening to Robinson communicate whereas he was on his aircraft and described him as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
“I mentioned, ‘I believe you’re higher than Martin Luther King. I believe you’re Martin Luther King instances two,’” Trump mentioned on the time.
Robinson’s historical past of inflammatory feedback in regards to the civil rights motion, victims of a college capturing, the Holocaust and extra have lengthy made him a political lightning rod.
However Trump ignored that historical past and in March endorsed Robinson, who might be a part of an extended listing of candidates Trump backed after they’d heaped reward on him and who went on to win the GOP nomination regardless of crimson flags solely to then lose the overall election. That listing contains 2022 Arizona gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake, 2022 Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial contender Doug Mastriano and extra.
“I’ve a nasty trait,” Trump mentioned final month at a rally in Georgia. “I solely like individuals who like me.”
Some Republicans appeared to acknowledge that the Robinson revelations might successfully finish their celebration’s hopes of profitable the North Carolina governor’s workplace.
And plenty of within the celebration shortly distanced themselves from Robinson. A beforehand scheduled fundraiser for Robinson that includes Tennessee Gov. Invoice Lee, the chair of the Republican Governors Affiliation, is now not taking place, in keeping with a supply conversant in the matter.
The query, although, is whether or not a poor efficiency by Robinson would drag down different members of the celebration’s ticket in North Carolina, together with Trump.
The state’s senior senator, Republican Thom Tillis, appeared to acknowledge the political actuality of the race, saying on social media that Thursday was “a tricky day” and that Republicans “should keep centered on the races we will win” – pointing to the presidential contest, in addition to state legislative and judicial elections.
“If Harris takes NC, she takes the White Home. We will’t let that occur,” Tillis mentioned.
On Friday, the senator referred to as on Robinson to take duty for his actions “if the reporting is true.”
“If the reporting on Mark Robinson is a complete media fabrication, he must take rapid authorized motion. If the reporting is true, he owes it to President Trump and each Republican to take accountability for his actions and put the way forward for NC & our celebration earlier than himself,” Tillis mentioned on social media.
Conservative commentator Erick Erickson, on his radio present Friday, in contrast Robinson to Walker, Lake and different shedding Trump-backed candidates.
“Each time you outsource your vetting of candidates to Donald Trump, it blows up in your face,” Erickson mentioned. “That is now going to power Donald Trump to spend cash in a state he ought to have locked up. That’s the issue.”
CNN’s Alayna Treene, Terence Burlij and Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.