Muslim ‘invaders’ and transgender ‘delusion’: Lt. gov. candidate’s posts draw criticism

The Republican candidate for lieutenant governor is standing behind Facebook posts in which he makes derogatory comments about transgender people, Muslims, a Jewish filmmaker, former President Barack Obama and fellow Black Americans who support Democrats.

Mark Robinson, a gun rights activist from Greensboro, surprised the Republican establishment when he easily defeated state legislators and other well-known candidates in the March primary. Now he’s facing state Rep. Yvonne Holley, a longtime Democratic legislator from Raleigh, in the race for a largely ceremonial role.

Robinson and his campaign did not respond to multiple calls and emails seeking an interview for this story. But he told WRAL News last month that he won’t apologize for any of the comments posted to Facebook over the past several years. “I’m not ashamed of anything that I post,” he told the TV station.

The N.C. Republican Party, which continues to run ads featuring Robinson with the party’s candidate for governor, current Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, declined to comment on the Facebook posts.

The N.C. Democratic Party has called on Forest and the NCGOP to condemn Robinson’s comments and remove the ads, calling the statements “hateful and appalling.”

In an interview, Holley said she didn’t want to address each individual comment by Robinson, but she was particularly concerned when he said in a recent debate that systemic racism does not exist.

“I don’t believe that systemic racism in our nation would allow two black people to stand here running for lieutenant governor,” Robinson said in a debate on Spectrum News 1. “Systemic racism is not the problem.”

Both Holley and Robinson are Black, meaning that regardless of who wins, North Carolina will have its first nonwhite lieutenant governor in January.

“It incites and divides people,” Holley said of Robinson’s Facebook posts. “It’s really important that we bring people together now.”

Robinson’s Facebook page has more than 100,000 followers, and most of them elicit dozens of supportive comments echoing his opinions. Among the candidate’s posts:

• He says that people “who support this mass delusion called transgenderism” are trying “to turn God’s creation backwards, and make it into a sickening image of rebellion to glorify Satan.” The LGBT advocacy group Equality NC condemned the statement, saying that “words like these fuel gender-based oppression and have led to an epidemic of violence against transgender women of color in this country. Transgender, and all LGBTQ North Carolinians, deserve elected officials who lead with compassion and who do not attack their constituents.”
• He says the popular movie “Black Panther” was “created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by (a) satanic marxist,” and “was only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets,” using a Yiddish slur for Black.
• Muslims, he says, “refuse to assimilate to our ways while demanding respect they have not earned.” He argues that they “are not ‘immigrants,’ they are INVADERS.”
• He criticizes Black voters for supporting the Democratic Party given its past racist stances. He says they’re “voting for the very people who have abused them throughout our history. That’s what happens when negroes don’t read.”

• He refers to Michelle Obama as a man, Barack Obama as “a worthless, anti-American atheist who wanted to bring this nation to it knees,” TV talk show host Joy Behar as a “she beast,” and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters as “Ol’ Maxie Pad” Waters.

A key tie-breaker?

Beyond the Facebook comments, the lieutenant governor’s race is full of contrasting policy goals.

And while the position is largely ceremonial, the winner’s views could make a difference. North Carolina’s lieutenant governor presides over Senate sessions and can cast tie-breaking votes — a scenario that’s rare now with a strong Republican majority, but one that could become common if Democrats win more seats and the chamber is closely divided.

The lieutenant governor serves on the State Board of Education and the Board of Community Colleges and chairs the Energy Policy Council.

The latter role is notable because Robinson falsely claimed in the Spectrum News debate that climate change “has not been proven scientifically.”

Holley said she’d like the Energy Policy Council to recommend restoring environmental regulations that have been rolled back under Republican control of the legislature.

She criticizes Robinson’s stance on climate change. “If you don’t believe that there’s a problem, how are you going to fix it?” she said.

The lieutenant governor also serves on the Council of State, the group of statewide elected officials headed by the governor.

On several occasions this year, the council has weighed in on Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders that imposed restrictions to combat the coronavirus. Holley supports Cooper’s actions, while Robinson has said the governor’s approach is too restrictive. He attended several of the “Reopen NC” protests in the spring.

‘Affordable Living’ platform

Holley has served in the House since she was first elected in 2012; she’s also had a lengthy career in state government overseeing procurement and contracting.

As lieutenant governor, she wants to build on what she sees as her biggest accomplishment in the legislature: A grant program that helps put fresh produce in convenience stores that are located in food deserts.

Her campaign platform, called the Affordable Living Initiative, aims to address food insecurity issues, affordable housing, public transit needs, economic development and education. She says the ideas stem from gentrification problems in her Raleigh House district, where kids are living in hotel rooms because their families can’t afford an apartment.

While the lieutenant governor presides over the Senate, he or she can’t file legislation. But Holley said she’ll use the platform to work with House and Senate colleagues on those issues. “I see myself as a catalyst for working together,” she said.

Robinson is an Army veteran who has worked in a furniture factory. He only recently got involved in politics after video of a gun-rights speech he gave before the Greensboro City Council went viral on YouTube. The 2018 speech criticized a proposal to cancel a gun show.

On his campaign website, Robinson says he’ll oppose immigration “sanctuary cities,” support gun rights, expand the state’s private school voucher program and work to implement voter ID.

Robinson says he has strong faith in God that guides his position on abortion. He says the right to life referred to in the Declaration of Independence begins at conception and that he considers the pro-life cause the civil rights issue of our times.

“I believe that the No. 1 social issue facing this nation today is how this nation will treat the unborn,” he said at an anti-abortion forum in Raleigh last month.

Polling in the race shows a close contest with many voters still undecided, likely because higher profile offices are attracting more attention.

According to an East Carolina University poll released this week, 44.7% of voters surveyed prefer Robinson, while 44.6% are supporting Holley, and 9.1% remain undecided.

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