Sen. Raphael Warnock (R-Ga.) blasted North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, calling him “white supremacy in blackface,” citing racist comments the Republican allegedly made on a porn website years ago.
Robinson, who serves as the state’s lieutenant governor, has attracted fresh controversy over a CNN report which unearthed comments allegedly made by Robinson on the “Nude Africa” pornography website between 2008 and 2012, including saying he would support a return of slavery and calling himself a “black NAZI.” Robinson has denied making the posts and vowed to stay in the race in the face of pressure to step aside.
Trump, who endorsed Robinson in March despite his history of making controversial comments, has referred to him as Martin Luther King Jr. “on steroids” and called him “better” than the civil rights icon. The former president has since appeared to be trying to distance himself from the candidate.
In an interview with MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” broadcast Sunday, Warnock appeared to take issue with the analogy.
“I can tell you as the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. served, that Mark Robinson is no Martin Luther King Jr,” Warnock said. “He is the antithesis of everything that Dr. King represented. He is white supremacy in blackface.”
The Democratic senator urged North Carolina voters not to lose sight of the fact that Trump had promoted Robinson as part of a “cynical” strategy the Republican presidential nominee also deployed in the 2022 midterms when Trump backed Herschel Walker, a controversial Black candidate, who Warnock ended up defeating.
“Trump has a long history of this,” Warnock said. “He tried this in my race. This is not the first time he has put forward a Black candidate who is unfit and unqualified to serve with this cynical notion that somehow the electorate will be confused about who this person represents. The people of North Carolina deserve better.”
Trump endorsed Walker in the Republican primary for the Georgia Senate race in 2022 despite the obvious flaws the former football player displayed. Walker, who was marred by allegations of domestic violence and revelations of two previously undisclosed children, among other things, lost to Warnock in the runoff election by nearly three percentage points.
Several members of Robinson’s team departed his campaign in the wake of the CNN report, including top campaign consultant Conrad Pogorzelski III and campaign manager Chris Rodriguez.
Trump, who campaigned in North Carolina over the weekend, did not mention Robinson or address the candidate during his Wilmington rally.
Meanwhile, several Republican leaders declined to disavow Robinson over the alleged posts, with Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), saying: “I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion.”
