LEESPORT, Pa. — Sen. J.D. Vance responded for the first time Saturday to a shocking report about Republican candidate for North Carolina governor, Mark Robinson, saying the allegations against Robinson are “not necessarily real.”
“Obviously, the allegations are pretty far-fetched, but we know that they’re not necessarily real,” Vance, an Ohio Republican, said of Robinson’s comments on the porn site.
“Ultimately, it’s up to Mark Robinson and the state of North Carolina whether I want to be governor of North Carolina or whether I want to continue this campaign,” Vance said in an interview with NBC Philadelphia.
Robinson made comments on a pornography site several years ago, calling himself a “black Nazi,” expressing support for slavery and calling Martin Luther King Jr. a racist term, according to a CNN report published Thursday.
Some members of the North Carolina Republican Party have expressed concern about the allegations, and the North Carolina Republican Party issued a statement on Thursday reiterating that Robinson “categorically denies the allegations.”
Robinson denied the reports and said he would continue his campaign.
Asked whether he believed Robinson’s denial that the comments were made by him, Vance said the situation needed to “unfold.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe him, I just think these things should be heard in the court of public opinion,” Vance said. “He’s going to make whatever claims he wants to make, and I have no doubt the press and other media will be looking into these statements further.”
Vance also said his candidate would not be campaigning with Robinson, who currently serves as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, and who is scheduled to visit the state on Monday.
NBC News previously reported that Trump has no plans to formally withdraw his support for Robinson, who the former president previously praised, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
North Carolina is seen as a crucial state for Republicans to win in order to secure the White House. Trump won the state narrowly in 2020, but Democrats have been boosting their spending there in hopes of flipping the state to the Democrats. Polls show a close race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. In the gubernatorial race, Robinson is trailing well behind his Democratic opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
Lauren Make
Alec Hernandez contributed.
