Salacious posts that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson purportedly made on a pornography website have been deleted in the 24 hours since CNN first drew attention to them.
The posts in question, which Robinson denied were his and had previously appeared on on the “Nude Africa” pornographic website, have been removed. POLITICO confirmed the posts’ removal after reviewing message board threads on the website that previously featured comments from a username Robinson has used on other platforms.
A profile page for the account in question remains on the website, and “mark robinson” is listed as the account holder’s name.
Robinson denied that he was behind the online posts made between 2008 and 2012 — which included statements about getting sexually aroused from memories of “peeping” on women in public showers as a teenager, affinity for “tranny on girl porn,” saying “slavery is not bad” and referring to himself as a “black Nazi.”
It’s unclear why the posts were deleted after the CNN story published. A spokesperson for Robinson did not immediately respond to a question about whether Robinson deleted the posts, or if the campaign asked for them to be taken down. The website is currently restricted to members with an account.
Robinson has vowed to stay in the race.
Prominent Republicans in North Carolina have called on Robinson to prove that he wasn’t behind the posts. On Thursday, Sen. Ted Budd and Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Robinson needs to do more than just say he wasn’t involved.
“The comments reported in the article are disgusting,” Budd said. “Mark Robinson says they are not from him. He needs to prove that to the voters.”
Hudson said Robinson “needs to assure the people of the state with a little more detail that they aren’t true.”
Robinson’s campaign on Thursday also denied that he had created an account on Ashley Madison, a website for married people seeking affairs. The spokesperson said Robinson’s email address had been compromised in multiple data breaches.
Robinson will not appear with Trump on Saturday at a rally in Wilmington, according to a person with knowledge of the rally plans, who was granted anonymity to speak about internal matters. Ahead of the CNN story publishing Thursday, Robinson’s campaign canceled his events. No campaign events are listed on his website for this weekend, and his next appearance isn’t scheduled until Monday.
