Donald Trump appears to have thrown North Carolina’s Gubernatorial GOP candidate Mark Robinson under the bus.

Trump and the scandal-hit Robinson both previously endorsed each other for their 2024 elections.

However, during a campaign stop in North Carolina yesterday, Trump appeared keen to distance himself from Robinson. Asked by Politico reporter Natalie Allison whether he would still urge voters to vote for Robinson, Trump replied, “I’m not familiar with the state of the race right now. I haven’t seen it.”

Trump and Robinson were previously supportive of one another. They appeared together at Trump campaign events in North Carolina. Trump praised the anti-LGBTQ+ candidate, who’s currently serving as the state’s Lieutenant Governor as “MLK on steroids”.

However, last month, CNN published a bombshell report about Robinson. It claimed that back in 2012, Robinson posted messages on an adult entertainment forum under a specific username linked to his email address. The user referred to himself as a “Black Nazi”, said that slavery had some benefits, and talked graphically about their sexual experiences and the adult movies they enjoyed watching, including those with trans women.

Robinson has denied he made the comments. Last week he launched a $50 million defamation lawsuit against CNN.

“I don’t know”

Despite the controversy, Trump has resisted pulling his endorsement. Last month, in the wake of the CNN report, when asked about his support of Robinson, Trump said at a press conference in New York City, “I don’t know the situation.”

It seems he just prefers to cut all public ties with the North Carolina candidate.

Robinson has now taken to posing alongside a cardboard cutout of Donald Trump at some of his campaign appearances.

Online, the response to Trump’s lack of knowledge about North Carolina’s gubernatorial race prompted a withering response.

Two recent opinion polls this week showed Democratic rival Josh Stein enjoying a 12-point lead over Mark Robinson in the run-up to the November election.

Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.