Former President Trump condemned anti-Semitism hours later The explosive CNN report detailed how one of his allies in the North Carolina gubernatorial seat made a series of racial and sexist comments on a website in which he referred to himself as a “black Nazi.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson vowed to stay in the race despite the report, and the Trump campaign appeared to distance itself from the Republican gubernatorial nominee while making the battleground state a key component of a return to the White House. Trump has often praised Robinson, who is considered a rising star in his party despite a history of harsh statements on race and abortion.
Trump did not comment on the allegations in his Thursday messages to a Jewish donor group and the American Israel Council in Washington. His campaign issued a statement on the CNN story, which did not mention Robinson, saying Trump is “focused on winning the White House and saving this country” and that North Carolina is “an important part of that plan.”
Robinson’s remarks, including a 2012 comment in which he said he would prefer Adolf Hitler to run Washington when President Obama was in the White House, clashed with Trump’s criticism of anti-Semitism in Washington and his claims that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s opponent, was sympathetic to Israel’s enemies. The story could also threaten Trump’s chances of winning North Carolina, as Robinson already trails his Democratic rival in public opinion polls.
“This story is not about the race for governor of North Carolina. It’s about the presidential race,” said Paul Shumaker, a Republican pollster who worked for Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.), who warned that Trump could be at risk of losing the state he won in 2016 and 2020.
“The question is, will Mark Robinson cost Donald Trump the White House?” Shumaker added.
After the allegations against Robinson came to light, Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Musa reposted a photo of Trump and the embattled candidate on social media. “Donald Trump has a problem with Mark Robinson,” he wrote.
Harris’ campaign released a new ad Friday that is the first to link Trump to the considered candidate. The exchange alternates between Trump’s praise for Robinson and comments from the lieutenant governor, which critics say show his support for a statewide abortion ban without exception. Robinson’s campaign proved this was not true.
The Democratic National Committee is also paying for ads in three major cities featuring a photograph of Robinson and Trump and Trump’s comments about him.
The North Carolina Republican Party issued a statement Thursday about Robinson, saying he “vehemently denied CNN’s allegations, but that doesn’t stop the left from trying to smear him with personal attacks.”
Trump has sought to make inroads among black voters, often aligning himself with Robinson throughout the campaign, which has brought him to North Carolina more frequently. At a rally in Greensboro, he called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids,” the civil rights leader, for his eloquence.
Robinson was with Trump last month.
Recent polls of North Carolina voters show Trump and Harris in a tight race. The same polls show Democrat Josh Stein leading Robinson by nearly 10 points in the race for governor.
Trump touts White House record to Jewish supporters
Trump appeared at a fundraiser Thursday with Miriam Adelson, co-owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
“My promise to American Jews is this: With your vote, I will be your defender, your protector, and I will be the best friend of American Jews in the White House,” Trump said at an event in Washington called “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America.”
“But to be fair, I already am,” Trump added.
Trump has also been criticized for his association with extremists who spew anti-Semitic rhetoric, such as right-wing activist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. And when former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke endorsed Trump in 2016, Trump responded in a CNN interview that “I don’t know anything about David Duke, I don’t know anything about white supremacists.”
During his four years in office, Trump approved a series of policy changes long awaited by many Israel supporters, including moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s seizure of the Golan Heights.
In his speech, Trump criticized Harris for the Biden administration’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas and for what he said were anti-Semitic protests on college campuses and elsewhere.
“Kamala Harris did nothing. She did not lift a finger to protect you or your children,” Trump said. He also repeated the theme that Jewish voters who vote for Democrats “should get their heads checked.”
Several attendees at the event said they were unfamiliar with the story about Robinson or declined to discuss it. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a conservative Republican from North Carolina who was previously asked about the CNN report, told reporters she was not asking questions.
Later Thursday, Trump spoke at a national meeting of the Israeli-American Council, paying tribute to the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel and describing a grim future for the nation if Harris is elected.
He added that if he loses the November 5 election, “the Jewish people will really have a lot to do with it.”
Associated Press writers Weissert and Slodisco reported from Washington, D.C., and Licon from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AP writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines contributed to this report.
