Trump dodges on pulling Robinson endorsement

Former President Trump dodged on whether he would retract his endorsement of North Carolina GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson following the explosive report about Robinson's inflammatory online comments. 

“I don’t know the situation,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter following a press conference he gave Thursday in New York City. 

Republicans have been reeling for the past week since CNN reported that Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, made a wide range of comments on the message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago. The comments included calling himself a “black NAZI,” wishing for slavery to be reinstated and sharing his pornography preferences. 

Robinson has denied the report and vowed to continue in the race, but supporters have distanced themselves in recent days. Three GOP governors have withdrawn their endorsement, while the Republican Governors Association, which works to elect Republicans to governorships, revealed that it does not have plans for additional ad buys for the race. 

But Trump has yet to pull his endorsement of Robinson. The former president had been an ardent supporter of Robinson for years and endorsed him during the primary before Robinson won the nomination for governor. 

Democrats pounced on Trump after the report, pointing to many comments Trump has made praising Robinson and sharing photos and videos of the two appearing together. Trump has called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” and “one of the great leaders in our country.” 

Following the report, the Trump campaign did not directly address the allegations against Robinson in its statement but instead emphasized the importance of North Carolina in the presidential race, calling it a “vital part” of Trump’s plan to win back the White House. 

Trump appeared in the state last weekend at a rally that did not include Robinson, who was present at a rally Trump gave there last month.