Trump returns to North Carolina without Mark Robinson

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump returns to North Carolina on Saturday, bouncing in the southern battleground state that both Democrats and Republicans see as increasingly important to victory in November.

But Trump will campaign in Wilmington, along the state’s southern coast, without Lt. Gov. Mark Robinsonthe Republican Party’s gubernatorial candidate and one of the former president’s top surrogates in the state, after a CNN report about his alleged posts on the message board of a pornographic website. Two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity said Friday that Robinson was not scheduled to attend the Wilmington event.

Robinson has denied writing the messages, which included lewd and racist comments, and said Thursday he would not be forced out of the race by “salacious lies in the tabloids.” Trump’s campaign appears to be distancing itself from Robinson in the wake of the CNN reporting, which the AP has not independently verified, saying in a statement to the AP that Trump is “focused on winning the White House and save this country” and calling North Carolina “an essential part of that plan,” without naming Robinson.

While Robinson won his Republican primary for the Republican Party in March, he trails the Democratic candidate in several recent polls Jos Steinthe state’s attorney general. Republican state officials have backed Robinson, whose decision to continue campaigning could threaten the Republican Party’s prospects in other key races, including Trump’s efforts in a battleground state he previously won twice.

Democrats have taken the opportunity to highlight Trump’s ties to Robinson, with billboards showing the two together as well as a new vice president ad Kamala Harris campaign highlighting the Republican candidates’ ties to Robinson’s support for a statewide abortion ban with no exceptions. According to Harris’ campaign, this is their first advertising effort related to tying Trump into a downhill election race.

A Republican has won North Carolina in every general election since 1976 except one, when Barack Obama won the state in 2008. Trump won there in both of his previous campaigns, on and on less than 1.5 percentage points against Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, the smallest margin of any state Trump won. That’s part of the reason Democrats view the state as winnable this fall.

With neither Senate seat up for grabs, the gubernatorial election has been North Carolina’s top presidential race this year. Robinson has become a natural top surrogate for Trump in the state and is a regular at campaign events there, appearing alongside the nominee at an event in Asheboro last month. Trump has long praised Robinson, who is black, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

Trump endorsed Robinson ahead of the Republican primaries and continued: “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you’re Martin Luther King times two.’

While there have been more visits by presidential candidates to the Rust Belt battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, both Harris and Trump have made several trips to North Carolina, highlighting the importance of the state. After Biden’s exit from the race in July, Trump held on his first large-scale rally there, turning his full attention to Harris.

Wilmington is home to New Hanover County, which Biden won in 2020. But his margin over Trump in the county was among his smallest in the state. ___

Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.