Content warning: This story contains vulgar language, sexually graphic descriptions and mentions of Nazism, slavery, misogyny, transphobia and pornography.
A bombshell CNN report revealed dozens of disturbing comments allegedly made by N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on a pornographic website, where he reportedly referred to himself as a “Black Nazi” and advocated for reinstating slavery.
The Thursday afternoon report linked the Republican nominee for governor to an account under the handle “minisoldr” on Nude Africa — a pornographic website that includes a message board feature — where his full name and email were mentioned alongside several identifying biographical details. Robinson also allegedly managed accounts with the same username across multiple social media platforms, where CNN found similarly inflammatory comments.
Robinson has maintained that he will not end his candidacy.
He appeared on CNN Thursday evening, where he unequivocally denied the allegations.
“I have no idea how this was done,” Robinson said. “I have five weeks left in this campaign to focus on the substantive issues North Carolinians face. I do not have time for tabloid trash.”
The comments, many of which were sexually graphic, were made between 2008 and 2012. The account tied to Robinson reminisced on memories of secretly looking at women in public gym showers when he was 14 years old.
“I went peeping again the next morning,” the post read. “But after that I went back [and] the ladder was locked! So those two times where [sic] the only times I got to do it! Ahhhhh memories!!!!”
In one forum, Robinson reportedly declared himself a “black NAZI!” and said he supported the return of slavery in another.
“Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few,” minisoldr wrote.
Other remarks included racist, antisemitic, homophobic and Islamophobic slurs, including one comment where he allegedly said he’d “take Hitler over any of the sh*t that’s in Washington right now” during the Obama administration and another where he referred to civil rights leader Martin Luther King as a “commie b*stard.”
Robinson also allegedly wrote about liking transgender pornography via the minisoldr account. The gubernatorial candidate has a long history of espousing public rhetoric hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, saying in February that transgender women who use women’s public restrooms “will be arrested.”
In a December 2010 thread, Robinson reportedly said he did not care that a celebrity had an abortion and that he just wanted to “see the sex tape.” Robinson currently says he supports North Carolina’s existing 12-week abortion ban, though he previously advocated for a complete ban without exceptions while running for lieutenant governor. He faced accusations of hypocrisy for his stance on abortion in 2022 after it came out that he paid for his wife’s abortion in 1989.
Robinson claimed that the story was leaked to CNN by the campaign of N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor.
“Let me reassure you — the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson. You know my words, you know my character and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before,” Robinson said in a video posted to his X account Thursday afternoon before the CNN report was released.
Robinson referenced remarks by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his 1991 confirmation hearings where he was accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, his former adviser at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“We’ve seen this type of stuff in the past as well,” Robinson said in the video. “Clarence Thomas famously once said he was the victim of a ‘high-tech lynching.’ Well, it looks like Mark Robinson is too.”
The revelations come weeks after The Assembly reported that Robinson frequented video-porn shops in Greensboro in the 1990s and 2000s.
Robinson is reportedly facing pressure from within his own party to drop out of the race, and his campaign canceled multiple Thursday events. He did not appear at a Wednesday rally in Raleigh featuring Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance.
However, the N.C. GOP stood by Robinson in a Thursday evening statement on X accusing “the Left” of “demoniz[ing] him via personal attacks.”
“The Left needs this election to be a personality contest, not a policy contest because if voters are focused on policy, Republicans win on Election Day,” the post read.
The Washington Post reported that officials working with the Trump campaign were among those asking Robinson to withdraw, though another official said the campaign is not reaching out to Robinson directly.
Trump has long been a strong ally of Robinson, referring to him as “Martin Luther King on steroids” at a Greensboro campaign rally in March where he endorsed his gubernatorial campaign.
The deadline for N.C. candidates to withdraw is at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Absentee ballots for military and overseas voters registered in the state are scheduled to be sent out Friday, after the initial Sept. 6 roll-out was delayed by former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ending his campaign. Any further delay would put the state in violation of federal law, which mandates that ballots be sent out no later than Sept. 21.
If Robinson does drop out, state law stipulates that the N.C. Republican Party’s executive committee would be able to name a replacement, which is allowed when the current candidate “dies, resigns or for any reason becomes ineligible or disqualified” before Election Day. Any votes for Robinson — should his name remain on absentee ballots — would be reallocated to the GOP’s new candidate.
Recent polls have shown Stein leading Robinson by five to 13 points in the gubernatorial race.
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Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Jazper Lu is a Trinity senior and centennial/elections editor for The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously managing editor for Volume 119.