The campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris is escalating its efforts to connect ex-President Donald Trump with Mark Robinson, the gubernatorial candidate from North Carolina, who is currently embroiled in a scandal concerning inappropriate online remarks. As the presidential race intensifies, Harris’ team is leveraging the controversy to help them win over crucial swing states, including North Carolina.
During a press conference held at Trump Tower in New York in late September, Trump avoided questions on whether he would withdraw his endorsement of Robinson in light of recent revelations about the Lieutenant Governor’s alleged inappropriate online behavior. “I don’t know the situation,” stated Trump before switching topics.
A CNN report tied Robinson to remarks made on a pornographic forum. In one post, Robinson identified himself as a “black NAZI!” and voiced his support for slavery. Despite Robinson’s vehement denials, several members of his staff have resigned and he is facing increasing criticism from Republican leaders.
Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, responded sharply to Trump’s apparent lack of concern saying, “It’s impossible to believe that, somehow, Donald Trump missed the news about his handpicked candidate for governor calling himself a ‘Nazi.’”
The Harris campaign is concentrating on the relationship between Trump and Robinson in an attempt to gain an advantage in the critical battleground state of North Carolina. “There’s an unlikely star in Kamala Harris’ push to win North Carolina: Mark Robinson,” reported ABC 11. Campaign volunteers are highlighting Robinson’s controversial statements and Trump’s ongoing support for him to the voters of North Carolina, especially as Robinson’s supporters are starting to distance themselves from him. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican Governor of Virginia, publicly retracted his endorsement earlier this week.
Although Trump has previously lauded Robinson as “one of the great leaders in our country,” he has conspicuously refrained from mentioning him at recent campaign events in North Carolina. This deliberate omission has not gone unnoticed. “Democrats aren’t making it so easy for Trump to distance himself,” ABC 11 reported, noting that the Harris campaign continues to underscore Trump’s endorsement of Robinson.
At the same press conference in New York, Trump attacked Harris, falsely accusing her of failures in immigration policy and making unfounded allegations. “She lost 325,000 children, and they’re either dead, being sold into sex slavery, or just plain missing,” Trump asserted, groundlessly associating Harris with child deaths and disappearances at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump’s claims have been widely disproven as they seem to be based on misunderstandings of an August report from the Department of Homeland Security. The report stated that 32,000 migrant children failed to attend their scheduled immigration court hearings, but there is no evidence to substantiate Trump’s claims.
During the same press conference, Trump also spoke about large-scale deportations of undocumented immigrants, promising to adopt a strategy similar to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback.” “This will be much larger than that, but we will get rid of the drug dealers, human traffickers, and murderers,” Trump announced.
North Carolina is shaping up to be a critical battleground in the 2024 election, with the state being one of the most fiercely contested. Trump won North Carolina in 2020 by a slim margin of 1.3 percentage points. Harris’ team is hopeful that the current scandal involving Robinson will provide Democrats with the boost they need to secure the state’s 16 electoral votes.
However, some within the Harris campaign are concerned that Robinson’s downfall may not be sufficient to swing North Carolina in favor of the Democrats. A campaign volunteer named Vernon Daughtry expressed optimism that the scandal could still influence the race. “I hope he brings Trump down,” Daughtry said of Robinson.
Despite these worries, the Harris campaign remains confident that its focus on Robinson will strike a chord with voters, particularly among North Carolina’s suburban, college-educated residents and the growing Hispanic and African American communities. These groups could play a decisive role in a state that hasn’t been won by a Democrat since Barack Obama’s victory in 2008.
The ongoing controversy surrounding Robinson could significantly impact Trump’s standing in North Carolina. However, the extent of this impact remains to be seen. The Harris campaign is not leaving anything to chance and is using every opportunity to turn the scandal to their advantage.
