Mark Robinson’s Top Campaign Staffers Flee Amid Porn Forum Scandal

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson is no stranger to backlash. Still, in the wake of a damming CNN report exposing a virulent history of racism and misogyny on pornographic forums, his campaign for the state’s governorship is in dire straits. 

On Sunday afternoon, Robinson’s campaign announced in a statement that four of its highest-level staffers — Campaign Manager Chris Rodriguez, Deputy Campaign Manager Jason Rizk, Finance Director Heather Whillier, and Senior Advisor Conrad Pogorzelski III — would be stepping down from their roles. 

“I wish them well in their future endeavors. I look forward to announcing new staff roles

in the coming days,” Robinson said in a statement. “”My campaign will continue to focus on the

substantive issues at stake in this election.” 

The wave of resignations comes after a bombshell CNN report that revealed Robinson’s active participation on a message board for the porn site “Nude Africa.” In his digital musings — which took place between 2008 and 2012 — Robinson referred to himself as a “black NAZI,” described Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot,” and declared his belief that “Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few.”

In addition to cold racism, Robinson — who as a politician and candidate has slung all manner of abuse against members of the LGBTQ community  — wrote that he likes “like watching t****y on girl porn! That’s f*cking hot! It takes the man out while leaving the man in!” Another post saw Robinson brag about spying on women in locker room shoes as a teenager. 

Robinson has denied the authenticity of the posts and maintained that he will not abandon his campaign — which has been heavily bolstered by former President Donald Trump. Trump has referred to Robinson as “Martin Luther King on steroids,” and lavished praise on the lieutenant governor as part of his efforts to win the battleground state of North Carolina. 
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But while the posts were apparently enough to send members of his own campaign running for the hills, national figures in the GOP are refusing to disavow the lieutenant governor. On Saturday, Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance told NBC News that while he didn’t believe Robinson’s denial, he wouldn’t be calling for his exit from the race. “You have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion,” Vance said. 

During a Sunday rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday, Trump broke with his past lauding of Robinson during public appearances in the state — heaping praise on a slew of Republican candidates, but leaving his hand-picked gubernatorial candidate out of the mix.