Republican Mark Robinson’s top staffers step down in wake of porn scandal
Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, Mark Robinson. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson has lost four top staffers amid an ongoing scandal around alleged posts on a porn forum.
North Carolina hopeful Robinson has been the centre of attention following CNN’s allegations that an account linked to the politician stated he liked transgender pornography – despite his anti-trans views – and that he called himself a “Black Nazi” on the message board of a porn website.
Now, four of his highest-level aides have quit the campaign.
On Sunday (22 September), Robinson announced on X/Twitter that his campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk, finance director Heather Whillier and senior advisor Conrad Pogorzelski III, had left their jobs.
“I appreciate the efforts of these team members who have made the difficult choice to step away from the campaign, and I wish them well in their future endeavours,” Robinson’s said.
He remained “confident our campaign remains in a strong position to make our case to the voters and win on November 5”.
Robinson, whom former president Donald Trump has backed and called “Martin Luther King on steroids”, has referred to LGBTQ+ people as “filth”, “maggots” and “what the cows leave behind”. CNN’s reports linked him to porn websites such as Nude Africa.
One of the contentious comments allegedly posted by Robinson on Nude Africa more than a decade ago read: “I like watching t****y on girl porn. That’s f**king hot. It takes the man out while leaving the man in”.
He has also spoken out against abortions, saying they are for women who aren’t “responsible enough to keep [their] skirt down”.
Current lieutenant governor Robinson has consistently refused to quit the race to replace Democrat Roy Cooper as governor of the Tar Heel State – seen as battleground in November’s presidential election.
On Monday (23 September), Robinson threatened to sue CNN, according to The Hill.
“We’re in talks right now, everything up to legal counsel to take CNN to task for what they have done to us,” he said. “We are going after them. We are going to go after them for what they’ve done.”
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