Donald Trump endorsed North Carolina’s current Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson for governor on March 2, fulfilling a promise Trump made months ago. As the Associated Press reports, the former president also compared Robinson to Martin Luther King, Jr. at a campaign rally.
Trump called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” before he added, “I told that to Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two. You should like it.’”
Trump also listed Robinson along with several other candidates he believed North Carolina voters should vote for during the state’s Republican primary on March 12. Trump said of the group, “They have my complete and total endorsement.”
While technically not a singular endorsement, the show of support from Trump and Robinson’s own fundraising and support among the state’s GOP makes Robinson the front-runner for the governor’s seat.
Despite Robinson’s strong condemnation of LGBTQ+ rights, notably through his inflammatory comments that trans women should use the bathroom outside, as well as his past statements denying the Holocaust and amplification of conspiracy theories about Jewish people, Trump called Robinson “an incredible gentleman.”
Aside from Trump, Robinson has received an endorsement from the NRA. Robinson spoke at the NRA’s convention in Texas in 2022, for which Robinson received criticism because it was held mere days after the school shooting in Uvalde. North Carolina state Democrats and 760 parents signed a letter calling for Robinson to cancel his appearance, which reads in part: “We demand to know—how many children do you need to see gunned down, communities torn apart, and lives upended, before you’ll finally decide to put lives ahead of the gun lobby and actually do something to stop this senseless violence?”
The letter continued, “Your thoughts and prayers are not enough. Unless proven otherwise, your attendance at the NRA convention in Texas this week makes it clear: you, and the North Carolina Republican Party, are beholden to the NRA instead of protecting North Carolina children.”
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