NC’s Mark Robinson introduces himself at Republican National Convention. What to know.
The Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, introduced himself on a national stage Monday evening on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Robinson followed Georgia’s U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in addressing the convention. His short speech, about three and a half minutes, sounded different from the fiery, often controversial speeches Robinson gives at extreme-right churches.
Robinson, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is aligned with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. Robinson faces Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein in the race for governor.
In his speech, Robinson recalled growing up poor, the ninth of 10 children, “with an alcoholic father who beat my mother.”
He also talked about times when he couldn’t pay his bills and filed for bankruptcy, saying that “many families today are having that same experience.” His other financial problems have included having to pay back taxes.
“There is hope, and I’m proof,” Robinson said.
“My wife and I never gave up. We kept our faith. We worked hard and made it through those tough times,” he said.
He mentioned that he is North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor and hopes to be its first Black governor.
Robinson, who said he is “not one of the political elite,” said as governor he would not forget where he came from.
He also said that the “American Dream was alive and well” under Trump, and talked about the cost of groceries and gas prices under President Joe Biden.
Who is Mark Robinson?
Robinson is a first-term elected official, running for office after giving a viral speech on gun rights at a Greensboro City Council meeting, and winning a competitive primary for lieutenant governor, then the general election in 2020.
Robinson had a Facebook following before he was a politician, and some of those posts have garnered criticism since he took office.
He is known for a series of insulting and controversial comments about a variety of people, like saying women should “keep your skirt down” to avoid abortion and that homosexuality is “filth,” and mocking the assault on the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Robinson wants the General Assembly, if he’s elected, to send him a “heartbeat” abortion bill, which would ban the procedure starting at five or six weeks gestation, when cardiac activity is first detected.
Robinson once paid for an abortion for his now-wife, saying later they regretted the decision. He did not mention abortion in his RNC speech.
In the past few weeks, Robinson said that “some folks need killing,” talking about World War II and going on to talk about how soldiers and “boys in blue” need to start handling the country’s business during a speech at a Bladen County church that sounded more like a sermon.
He also admonished reporters who wanted to ask him questions after a public event in the N.C. Legislative Building last week. As lieutenant governor, Robinson’s few official duties include presiding over the Senate, but he is rarely there.
Robinson introduces North Carolina at RNC
Earlier in the day at the convention, when delegates from each state logged their votes for the party’s presidential nomination, Robinson spoke for North Carolina, touting the state “that is and always will be First in Flight.” The state’s delegates cast 62 votes for Trump, and 12 for Nikki Haley, who lost to Trump in the primary.
Trump announced his pick for his vice presidential running mate on Monday, choosing Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a freshman lawmaker who rose to fame with his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
The theme of the first night was “Make America Wealthy Once Again.”
‘America’s Braveheart’
Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, when a bullet grazed his ear. A man was killed, and the gunman was also killed.
Robinson twice called Trump “the Braveheart of our time” in his speech, and called him “America’s Braveheart” in his remarks casting North Carolina’s votes. The 1995 movie “Braveheart” told the story of Sir William Wallace, a leader of Scottish resistance to England in the 13th century. Wallace was later executed.
Biden-Harris campaign reaction
The Biden-Harris campaign responded to Robinson’s speech with a statement about the state losing manufacturing jobs during Trump’s administration, saying that Biden “helped bring our state back,” with new jobs.
“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,” said Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson Dory MacMillan.
Under the Dome
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