Several leading Republicans refused to outright denounce North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) as a scandal over his alleged comments on a porn website roiled the GOP over the weekend.
While speaking to NBC Philadelphia on Saturday, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) stopped short of rebuking the gubernatorial candidate who, in a recent report from CNN , was accused of calling himself a Black Nazi, saying he supported slavery and making an array of shocking sexual comments on an adult website years ago.
Robinson firmly denied the allegations while vowing to stay in the race in a video statement posted Thursday night, calling himself the victim of a high-tech lynching.
REPORTER: Do you believe Mark Robinson that those were not his posts?
JD VANCE: I don't not believe him pic.twitter.com/YHhZLsEedI
REPORTER: Do you believe Mark Robinson that those were not his posts?
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 22, 2024
JD VANCE: I don't not believe him pic.twitter.com/YHhZLsEedI
Vance was less than unequivocal in his comments about the controversy, telling the NBC affiliate, The allegations are pretty far out there, of course, but I know that allegations arent necessarily reality.
I dont not believe him, I dont believe him, the Republican vice presidential candidate continued to hedge. I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took a cautious approach while appearing on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday morning, telling host Kristen Welker that Robinson deserves a chance to defend himself.
WATCH: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says Mark Robinson \"deserves a chance to defend himself\" when asked if Donald Trump should pull his endorsement of the North Carolina Republican.@LindseyGrahamSC: \"The charges are beyond unnerving. If they're true, he's unfit to serve.\" pic.twitter.com/5FeTIFhWLv
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If they're true, he's unfit to serve.\" pic.twitter.com/5FeTIFhWLv Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 22, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Meet the Press on Twitter / 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elections","slug":"2024-elections","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2024-elections","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2024-elections","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2024-elections"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2024 Elections","slug":"2024-elections","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2024-elections"},{"name":"Lindsey Graham","slug":"lindsey-graham","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/lindsey-graham","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/lindsey-graham","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/lindsey-graham"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Lindsey Graham","slug":"lindsey-graham","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/lindsey-graham"},{"name":"j.d. vance","slug":"jd-vance","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jd-vance","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jd-vance","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jd-vance"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"JD Vance","slug":"jd-vance","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/jd-vance"},{"name":"mark robinson","slug":"mark-robinson","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mark-robinson","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mark-robinson","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mark-robinson"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mark-robinson"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">WATCH: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says Mark Robinson "deserves a chance to defend himself" when asked if Donald Trump should pull his endorsement of the North Carolina Republican.@LindseyGrahamSC : "The charges are beyond unnerving. If they're true, he's unfit to serve." pic.twitter.com/5FeTIFhWLv
Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 22, 2024
The charges are beyond unnerving, he said. If theyre true, hes unfit to serve for office. If theyre not true, he has the best lawsuit in the history of the country for libel.
What I would do if I were him, I would hire me the best lawyer I could find [and] Id sue the hell out of CNN , Graham added, claiming that Robinson has an obligation to defend himself from this scandal hanging over his campaign.
Elsewhere on the Sunday interview circuit, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called the allegations concerning while trying to shift the focus to the 2024 presidential race.
He owes the people of North Carolina more answers about it, Cotton told Jake Tapper, a co-host of CNNs State of the Union.
He owes the people of North Carolina more answers about it.@SenTomCotton responds to CNNs report uncovering disturbing comments made by Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/hI7zbC93Lr
State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 22, 2024","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"State of the Union","author_url":"https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU","cache_age":86400,"description":"He owes the people of North Carolina more answers about it.@SenTomCotton responds to CNNs report uncovering disturbing comments made by Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/hI7zbC93Lr State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 22, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"State of the Union on Twitter / 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vance","slug":"jd-vance","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jd-vance","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jd-vance","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jd-vance"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"JD Vance","slug":"jd-vance","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/jd-vance"},{"name":"mark robinson","slug":"mark-robinson","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/mark-robinson","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/mark-robinson","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/mark-robinson"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/mark-robinson"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">He owes the people of North Carolina more answers about it.@SenTomCotton responds to CNNs report uncovering disturbing comments made by Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/hI7zbC93Lr
State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 22, 2024
Asked if Donald Trump should rescind his endorsement of Robinson, Cotton said hed leave that decision up to the former president.
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Most importantly, Ill leave it to the people of North Carolina, he added.
Previously one of Robinsons most prominent backers, Trump once referred to the lieutenant governor as Martin Luther King on steroids.
Trump has yet to address the Robinson controversy, avoiding any mention of the embattled politician during a campaign rally in North Carolina, a critical swing state, on Saturday.
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