NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson endorses Trump, after all
Less than two weeks after saying he wasn’t ready to endorse any presidential candidates, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has made up his mind: He’s endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Robinson, who’s running for governor, announced his decision Friday at the Faith & Freedom Conference in Washington.
“This nation needs a fighter, someone who is willing to go onto the world stage, walk in boldly, strongly, waving the American flag, saying: ‘The Americans are here and we’re in charge again, and we’re going to lead this world into the future, with freedom,” Robinson said.
“That’s what America needs and that is why, on this stage today, I am endorsing Donald J. Trump as the President of the United States of America in 2024,” he continued. “No more of this soft talk. No more of this easy-speak.”
Robinson’s endorsement of Trump comes a week after other Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor criticized him for hesitating to endorse the former president.
Trump and Robinson have regularly praised each other in recent years, with Trump referring to Robinson as a “friend” last September, adding: “Whatever you’re running for let me know, I want to give you a real early endorsement.”
Robinson hesitated to return the favor earlier this month, however, when asked by a WBT radio show host who he supported in the GOP presidential primary. In the interview, which was conducted at the state GOP convention on June 10 and then posted online June 15, Robinson said he wasn’t ready to endorse any of the presidential candidates.
“I love President Trump. I really do,” Robinson told WBT radio. “And I love him because of his body of work. The four years he was in office, he did amazing things in this country.”
He continued: “President Trump is a guy for me. But I don’t discount any of the candidates. And I’m not necessarily — right now, at this moment — ready to endorse anybody. But I can tell you that right now I’m MAGA. If they want to call it that, I’m MAGA all the way because I saw what it did last time, and I know what those policies can do in the future.”
At the NC GOP convention on June 10, Trump heaped praise on Robinson and again promised to eventually endorse him.
“I’m going to endorse Mark, but I’m not going to tell you about it tonight, OK?” Trump said. “We’ll save it for another time. But you can count on it, Mark. Congratulations. Great job. You’ve been doing a fantastic job.”
State Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican who’s also running in the gubernatorial primary, said Robinson’s hesitation to endorse Trump “is no more bizarre than anything else he has said or done in the past 1,000 days” as lieutenant governor.
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, another GOP gubernatorial candidate, suggested Robinson wasn’t being honest about his convictions.
“Once President Trump learns about the real Mark Robinson we’ll see if he wants to run on a ticket with him,” Walker told WRAL in a statement.
Robinson’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on his opponents’ statements.
