By James Oliphant
(Reuters) – Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina on Saturday, but his Republican ally, gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, was nowhere to be seen.
Robinson, who has appeared at previous Trump campaign rallies in the battleground state, was absent after a CNN report this week detailed how he allegedly once called himself a “black NAZI” and proposed reinstating slavery in comments posted on a pornography website. Robinson has denied the allegations and said he will remain in the race for governor.
North Carolina is critical to the hopes of both Republican presidential candidate Trump and his opponent in the Nov. 5 election, Democrat Kamala Harris.
Polls show the race in the state is close, and some Republicans fear the scandal surrounding Robinson could hurt Trump’s chances there.
At the rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump suggested he would decline to debate Harris a second time after she accepted CNN’s invitation to participate in a showdown on Oct. 23.
“The problem with another debate is that it’s already too late. The voting has already started,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump has not addressed the allegations against Robinson, currently the state’s lieutenant governor, but has in the past praised him as “Martin Luther King on steroids.” Robinson appeared at a Trump rally last month.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Robinson may not have been at Saturday’s rally, but Democrats worked to ensure he was not forgotten.
Ahead of Trump’s visit, the Democratic National Committee launched new advertising in the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro linking Trump to Robinson.
The billboards feature a photograph of the two men together, along with quotes from Trump in which he had previously called Robinson an “exceptional person” and an “incredible gentleman.” “Trump on Mark Robinson: ‘We have to appreciate Mark,'” the billboards read.
After CNN published its report, Harris’ campaign posted photos on social media of Trump and Robinson, calling them “best friends.” On Friday, it began running a television ad in North Carolina featuring Trump’s past praise of Robinson.
Robinson has a history of incendiary rhetoric, including denying the Holocaust and referring to Muslims as “invaders” and gays and transgender people as “trash.” His political career has been fueled by his advocacy for gun rights and far-right views.
Trump used the Wilmington rally largely to again criticize the flow of immigration into the United States during the Biden administration.
He pledged to send law enforcement agents into “Democratic-run” cities to track down and deport immigrants in the country illegally, and to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” that shield such immigrants from the reach of federal forces, saying he would seek legislation in Congress to “ban” them.
“We will hunt down and capture every gang member, drug dealer, rapist, murderer and migrant criminal,” Trump told the crowd.
Harris’ campaign and its allies have made a significant investment in North Carolina, including two visits by the vice president last week. No Democrat has won the state in a presidential election since 2008, but voters have elected Democrat Roy Cooper as governor in 2016 and 2020.
Robinson had been tracking his opponent, Democrat Josh Stein, even before the CNN report, suggesting it could be a drag on Trump’s chances in the state if some disaffected Republicans stay home on Election Day or join Harris.
Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, said that in a state Trump won by just 1.3 percentage points in 2020, the Robinson scandal could hurt Republicans’ chances in the November election, including Trump’s.
“If some people feel that the Republican brand is tarnished enough that they would rather stay home, then that will matter,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t take a huge difference to flip the state.”