NC Lt. Gov. Robinson talks history, vaccines & his future on the Under the Dome podcast

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In his first six months as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson has established himself as a force in state politics.

He’s been an outspoken critic of the state’s new social studies standards, complaining of what he calls “indoctrination” of students over the objections of parents and teachers. He created a task force to collect complaints about public education.

Robinson, a newcomer to politics, is the the state’s first Black lieutenant governor. And his star has risen quickly in Republican circles.

He has a prominent speaking slot tonight at the NC GOP state convention in Greenville. He toyed with a run for the U.S. Senate in 2022. He seems likely to run for governor in 2024.

I spoke with Robinson for today’s episode of The News & Observer’s Under the Dome podcast.

We hit on many of those topics and more, including the ongoing controversy around UNC-Chapel Hill’s hiring of journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, his thoughts on ending North Carolina’s participation in the federal unemployment benefits program and his decision not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

A few snippets from our conversation:

▪ On social studies standards: “We cannot teach our young people that our system of government is racist because it has been that unique system of government in America that we have used to confront racism and bigotry and sexism.”

▪ On Nikole Hannah-Jones: “Would I hire her to teach journalism students? Absolutely not. .... I have absolutely no confidence in the person that wrote those series of essays (The 1619 Project), and I am not comfortable with her teaching young people journalism.”

▪ On the COVID-19 vaccine: “I have not taken the vaccine. .... If you want the vaccine, as an elected official, it is my job that whatever I can do in my capacity to make sure that it is available to you. That is the job of the elected official — not to tell you to take it, not to tell you not to take it, but to make sure that if you want it it is available to you.”

The entire podcast is worth a listen. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

2022 watch

▪ Former President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx on Thursday, sending a tweet-like statement from his Save America PAC email address.

“Congresswoman Virginia Foxx is an America First conservative who helped us win the Great State of North Carolina in 2016 and 2020. She opposed the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, Impeachment Hoax, and we can always count on her vote to Make America Great Again,” Trump wrote.

Trump is still banned from Twitter, but sends a steady stream of announcements and messages through email.

Foxx, 77, is running for a 10th term in the U.S. House. Foxx represents the 5th Congressional District in the northwestern part of the state.

“Thanks to President Trump’s strong endorsement, I am even more energized for this campaign and will do everything I can to apply that same track-record of effectiveness to halting the Biden administration’s leftist schemes by electing a conservative majority in Congress in 2022,” she said in a statement.

▪ Republican Tyler Lee announced his candidacy in the 12th Congressional District, which currently is contained in Mecklenburg County.

Lee is not the only Republican that has entered the race to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. Alma Adams. Rogelio Lawsin filed in February, Francisco Rios filed in April and Joel Maxwell filed in April.

▪ Hendersonville pastor and principal Eric Gash made his long-expected candidacy in the 11th Congressional District official this week, joining a long list of challengers hoping to unseat freshman Republican Madison Cawthorn.

What we’re reading

▪ “Death in the Fast Lane,” an investigation by The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer, found that extreme speeding — where drivers fly 20, 30, even 50 mph over the speed limit — has increased dramatically in the state. And it’s largely happening because North Carolina allows drivers to get away with it.

▪ Republicans want North Carolina to drop out of the program that pays additional federal unemployment benefits ($300 per week) before September when the program is set to expire. Danielle Battaglia has the latest developments.

▪ Budget stalemates aren’t new in North Carolina. But this year’s standoff is between the Republican-led House and the Republican-led Senate, Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan reports.

▪ The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — a Greensboro businessman and GOP megadonor — for some of his past political fundraising.

▪ The North Carolina Senate blocked one of Gov. Roy Cooper’s nominees this week for the first time. But Cooper found another role for Dionne Delli-Gatti, Adam Wagner reports.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

In the meantime, tune into our stories and tweets and Domecast for more developments.

— By Brian Murphy, Washington correspondent for The News & Observer. Email me at bmurphy@mcclatchydc.com.