Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance said he doesn’t think the allegations against Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, are “necessarily reality.”
Mr. Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, has resisted calls to step down from the governor race following reports that he supposedly posted slurs and referred to himself as a “Black Nazi” on a pornographic website’s forum. Comments also suggested he supported the reinstatement of slavery.
“The allegations are pretty far out there, of course, but I know that allegations aren’t necessarily reality,” Mr. Vance told NBC10 Philadelphia on Sunday.
“And what I’d say is it’s ultimately up to Mark Robinson and North Carolina whether he’s going to be their governor and whether he wants to stay in the race,” the senator said. “I’ll let them make that decision.”
The comments reported by CNN were made more than a decade ago on the website’s message board. The outlet linked the username “minisoldr” to Mr. Robinson, along with the email, but his full name was also listed on the account.
“I don’t not believe him, I don’t believe him — I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion,” said Mr. Vance, Ohio Republican. “He’s going to make whatever arguments he wants to make. I’m sure the news media and others are going to investigate these comments further.”
“I just think that fundamentally, it’s Mark Robinson and the people of North Carolina that get to decide whether he’s their governor, and that’s what we’re going to focus on,” he said.
He also said he has no plans to campaign with him.
Mr. Robinson has denied that the account is his. He also denied the allegations and blamed them on his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Josh Stein, in a video on his X account before the report was released.
Top aides from his campaign have stepped down from their roles amid the allegations on Sunday.
“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 endeavors. I look forward to announcing new staff roles in the coming days,” Mr. Robinson said in a statement.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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