NC Lt. Gov Mark Robinson at RNC: Back Trump to restore the economy

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks on stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson addressed the Republican National Convention on Monday evening, giving a brief address detailing his personal background as he urged support for former President Donald Trump in November.

Robinson keyed in on economic issues in his remarks, telling those in Milwaukee about losing two manufacturing jobs “because of NAFTA” and blasting President Joe Biden for higher grocery prices and costs of living.

The GOP nominee for governor pledged to remember North Carolinians like one he saw at a gas station holding an envelope with bankruptcy papers.

“As governor, I will not forget where I came from, or the struggles of the people I meet,” Robinson said. “And you know, there’s someone else who will fight just as hard for you — President Donald J. Trump. The Braveheart of our time.”

Robinson’s speech, on the first night of the four-day convention, put him in front of an audience of GOP loyalists, many of whom are closely watching North Carolina’s gubernatorial race this fall. He is facing Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, in an effort to succeed Gov. Roy Cooper.

His remarks comes days after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. In a video released on social media Saturday evening, Robinson called for a peaceful response to the incident.

“We see what’s happening here in America right now,” Robinson said in the video. “Passions are inflamed on both sides of the aisle. But please, let’s all remember who we are. We are Americans. Let’s unify in the fact that violence has no place in political discourse.”

The lieutenant governor’s remarks at the convention come after Trump campaign managers said in a memo to Republicans on Sunday that the campaign “will not tolerate dangerous rhetoric on social media,” POLITICO reported.

And Trump told the New York Post in an interview that he had reworked his convention speech after the shooting to focus on “unity.”

Weeks prior to taking the stage in Milwaukee, Robinson spoke at a church meeting in which he declared that “some people need killing.” The comment came while he spoke about the U.S. response to aggression by Axis forces in World War II. Robinson added that when “you have wicked people doing wicked things” it’s time to call out “those guys in green” or “those boys in blue and have them go handle it.”

Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democrat challenging Robinson, said it was “endorsing violence” against political opponents. A campaign spokesperson for Robinson denied that the remark was aimed at any present-day violence, but a reference to “the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese.”

Robinson declined to answer questions from reporters last week, calling them “shameful” for asking about his remarks.

Earlier on Monday, Robinson introduced North Carolina’s delegation and cast the state’s votes for Trump as the party’s presidential nominee.

“I am Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and God willing, I will be the next governor of North Carolina,” Robinson said, surrounded by North Carolina’s seersucker-clad delegation.

He also praised Trump’s selection of Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.

“He’s a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served our country overseas and knows the struggles facing communities across the country firsthand,” Robinson wrote on social media. “I am looking forward to working with the Trump-Vance ticket to take our state and country back in November and make America great again!”

Shortly after Robinson made his remarks, Dory MacMillan, North Carolina Communications Director for the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign issued the following statement in response:

“Under Donald Trump, North Carolina lost nearly 9,000 manufacturing jobs, and once Joe Biden was elected, he helped bring our state back, overseeing the creation of more than 400,000 new jobs, including 12,400 manufacturing jobs, since taking office. Mark Robinson and Trump are pushing the same extreme MAGA agenda to rip away our rights, our health care, and our access to the good-paying jobs President Biden created.”

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