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The Trump campaign is increasingly worried that the scandals plaguing the campaign of North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson might damage their prospects in the key battleground state.
The last Democrat to win the state on the presidential level was former President Barack Obama in 2008 and it’s likely a must-win for Mr Trump if he wants to return to the White House in January next year.
CNN reported on Thursday that Mr Robinson made a number of bizarre comments on a porn forum between 2008 and 2012, including calling himself a “perv”, a “Black NAZI!” and sharing his support for reinstating slavery, saying that he “would certainly buy a few”.
“This is an issue that has to do with Robinson’s campaign and not President Trump’s campaign,” a Trump official told Axios on Thursday.
In October 2011, Mr Robinson called Martin Luther King Jr “worse than a maggot” and a “huckster”.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has referred to Mr Robinson as Dr King “on steroids”.
In a video shared on X before the CNN report, Mr Robinson said: “Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson.”
“Folks, this race right now, our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with to salacious tabloid trash,” he added.
Mr Robinson was given a deadline to drop out before 11.59pm on Thursday night, but the Republican nominee committed to staying in the race.
The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley, has previously noted that Mr Robinson is polling lower in the state than Mr Trump, which might indicate that his presence in the campaign could drag the former president down.
“I understand the concern that’s been raised ... because you do have a spread between Donald Trump and Mark Robinson,” he told Axios.
Last month on NewsNation, former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said: “Trump is being weighed down by a very unpopular Republican candidate for governor.”
The Republicans did worse than expected in the 2022 midterms, partly because of the divisive candidates who won the party’s primaries. Thirty-four candidates backed by Mr Trump lost that year, according to NBC.
Mr Trump has previously supported Mr Robinson, including saying he could be president “someday” during an event with the North Carolina lieutenant governor at Mar-a-Lago.
“I think someday, hopefully I’m going to be around to see, someday we’re going to see that man at the highest position,” the former president said.
“I got to know him so well and fairly quickly ... I hope you can back him and write cheques for him.”
Mr Trump is rallying supporters in Wilmington, North Carolina on Saturday but Mr Robinson is not set to take part, according to Axios.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said the state was “vital” to win back the White House.
“We are confident that as voters compare the Trump record of a strong economy, low inflation, a secure border, and safe streets, with the failures of Biden-Harris, then President Trump will win the Tar Heel State once again,” the campaign told Axios, without mentioning Robinson.
