Trump once praised North Carolina’s self-proclaimed ‘Nazi’ candidate. Now he’s scrambling to distance himself

The Trump campaign is increasingly worried that the scandals plaguing the campaign of North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson might damage their prospects in the key battleground state.

The last Democrat to win the state on the presidential level was former President Barack Obama in 2008 and it’s likely a must-win for Trump if he wants to return to the White House in January next year.

CNN reported on Thursday that Robinson made a number of bizarre comments on a porn forum between 2008 and 2012, including calling himself a “perv,” a “Black NAZI!” and sharing his support for reinstating slavery, saying that he “would certainly buy a few.”

“This is an issue that has to do with Robinson’s campaign and not President Trump’s campaign,” a Trump official told Axios on Thursday.

In October 2011, Robinson called Martin Luther King Jr “worse than a maggot” and a “huckster.”

Meanwhile, Trump has referred to Robinson as King “on steroids.”

In a video shared on X before the CNN report, Robinson said, “Let me reassure you, the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson.”

“Folks, this race right now, our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues and focus on what you are concerned with to salacious tabloid trash,” he added.

Robinson was given a deadline to drop out before 11.59pm on Thursday night, but the Republican nominee committed to staying in the race.

The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley, has previously noted that Robinson is behind Trump’s polling in the state, which might indicate that his presence in the campaign could drag Trump down.

“I understand the concern that’s been raised… because you do