Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., on Sunday said GOP gubernatorial candidate and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is “the antithesis of everything that Dr. [Martin Luther] King represented,” describing him as “white supremacy in blackface.”
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Warnock blasted Robinson, who was the subject of a CNN report last week that said he once made multiple lewd comments on a pornographic website in which he expressed support for slavery, referred to himself as a “black NAZI,” described Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot” and said that if “he was in the KKK” he would’ve called the late civil rights leader “Martin Luther Koon.” Robinson has denied the report.
“[Robinson] talks about his desire to bring slavery back. I mean, this talk is way beyond the pale. Calling himself a black Nazi. These are his words,” Warnock told Psaki.
Warnock reflected on Robinson’s words, highlighting that he is the current pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Georgia, where King served as co-pastor from 1960 until he was assassinated in 1968.
The senator also tied Robinson to former President Donald Trump, saying, “The people of North Carolina need to take note of the fact that this is Donald Trump’s candidate.”
Warnock accused Trump of backing Robinson for the same reasons Trump backed Warnock’s opponent, former professional football player Herschel Walker, in 2022.
“[Trump] tried this in my race. This is not the first time he has put forward a Black candidate who is unfit and unqualified to serve with this cynical notion that somehow the electorate will be confused about who this person represents,” Warnock said.
Trump hasn’t spoken about Robinson since the CNN story came out, but previously praised him multiple times. Robinson was notably missing from Trump’s rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.
During a rally last month in Asheboro, North Carolina, Trump wished Robinson luck and told attendees, “Mark’s got to win. He’s got to win. Got to win. He’s a good man.”
In March, during a pre-Super Tuesday rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trump said Robinson is “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
“I told that to Mark. I said, I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two,” the former president said at the time.
NBC News reported last week that despite facing pressure from allies and those within his own campaign, there are no plans for the former president to formally drop his endorsement of Robinson.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
