Mark Robinson (American politician)
Mark Keith Robinson (born August 8, 1968) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 35th lieutenant governor of North Carolina since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he is the first African-American to hold the office. After defeating Democratic nominee Yvonne Lewis Holley in the 2020 lieutenant gubernatorial election, he succeeded Republican Dan Forest, who had made an unsuccessful run for the governorship against incumbent Democrat Roy Cooper. His political career has been characterized by promotion of conspiracy theories and numerous incendiary statements. Early life and education. Robinson was born in Greensboro , North Carolina, as the ninth of ten children. His father was abusive, and he and his siblings lived in foster care for part of their childhood. He was a graduate of Grimsley High School. From 1985 to 1989, he served in the United States Army Reserve. Robinson worked at a furniture factory and had begun to study history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Political career. In April 2018, Robinson attended a meeting of the Greensboro City Council, where they debated whether or not to cancel a gun show in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School  shooting. Robinson spoke in favor of gun rights, and video of his speech went viral after it was shared on Facebook by Mark Walker. He was invited to speak at the National Rifle Association's annual convention that year. 2020 campaign. Robinson ran in the 2020 election for lieutenant governor of North Carolina. He won the Republican nomination, clearing the 30% threshold to avoid a primary runoff, defeating state senator Andy Wells, superintendent of public instruction Mark Johnson, former congresswoman Renee Ellmers, and former state representative Scott Stone. He faced Democratic nominee Yvonne Lewis Holley in the general election in  November, in a race in which either Robinson or Holley would become North Carolina's first African-American lieutenant governor. Robinson was elected, in the process becoming the second black person ever elected to the North Carolina Council of State, after Ralph Campbell Jr.. Robinson's 2020 campaign finance reports contained incomplete information on his campaign contributors, and shows questionable campaign expenditures, including spending on items for clothing for Robinson and wife. Robinson reported $186 for medical bills and for $2,840 for "campaign clothes and accessories" (most of it spent at a sporting goods shop), but failed to  explain why these expenditures were campaign-related. The reports stated that Robinson's wife spent $4,500 for "campaign clothing" but gave no details. The reports also stated that Robinson withdrew an unexplained $2,400 in cash in apparent violation of a state law requiring all candidate cash payment over $50 to be accompanied by a detailed description explaining of what the money was for. After these expenses came under scrutiny in 2021, Robinson's campaign blamed "clerical errors"; the executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause North Carolina filed a formal complaint with the State Board of  Elections over the discrepancies. Political views and remarks. Robinson promoted his persona as a "brash and unfiltered conservative culture warrior". He opposes abortion, promotes climate change denial, and opposes the legalization of recreational marijuana. Robinson's past anti-Semitic comments have drawn scrutiny and condemnation. He claimed that the Marvel movie "Black Panther" was "created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic Marxist" that was "only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets" (using a Yiddish word for Black). Robinson also appeared at an interview with fringe pastor Sean Moon, who claimed that he  planned to become "king of the United States"; in the interview, Moon claimed that the Rothschild family was one of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" and promoted the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory of a cabal of Jewish "international bankers" who rule every country's central bank. Robinson endorsed Moon's claim as "exactly right". Robinson's statements, as well as his refusal to apologize or retract them, drew much concern from the leaders of North Carolina's Jewish community. On his Facebook page, which has more than 100,000 followers, Robinson's posts, which often impugn transgender people, Muslims, former  President Barack Obama, and African-Americans who support Democrats, have drawn criticism. Robinson accused people "who support this mass delusion called transgenderism" of seeking "to glorify Satan". Robinson called former President Obama "a worthless, anti-American atheist" and posted "birther" memes; accused American Muslims of being "INVADERS" who "refuse to assimilate to our ways while demanding respect they have not earned"; called Michelle Obama a man; and disparaged Joy Behar and Maxine Waters in crude terms. After the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, Robinson wrote that "Homosexuality is STILL an abominable sin and I WILL NOT join in 'celebrating gay pride .'" In 2020, Robinson asserted that the coronavirus was a "globalist" conspiracy to defeat Donald Trump, and dismissed the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing, "The looming pandemic I'm most worried about is SOCIALISM." The "Charlotte Observer" editorial board described Robinson's posts as "cringeworthy" and "an embarrassment" while the state Democratic Party called them "homophobic, anti-Semitic, and downright unhinged." Robinson's posts were also criticized by Equality North Carolina and Jewish community leaders in North Carolina. When asked about the posts, Robinson declined to apologize, referring to his posts as "my personal opinions" and saying "I'm not  ashamed of anything that I post." Tenure. Robinson was sworn in on January 9, 2021. As lieutenant governor in June 2021, Robinson delivered a speech in which he disparaged "transgenderism and homosexuality" as "filth," saying: "There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth. And yes I called it filth. And if you don’t like that I called it filth, come see me and I’ll explain it to you." In the same speech, which was delivered at a Seagrove, North Carolina, church, he called for an end  to the separation of church and state in public schools. In October 2021, after Robinson's speech was brought to light by "Right Wing Watch", Democratic state senator Jeff Jackson called for Robinson to resign, and Governor Roy Cooper's office said that "It's abhorrent to hear anyone, and especially an elected official, use hateful rhetoric that hurts people and our state’s reputation." North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein made similar comments. The Biden administration, through a statement by White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, condemned Robinson's words as "repugnant and offensive" and said that a  leader's role is "to bring people together and stand up for the dignity and rights of everyone; not to spread hate and undermine their own office." The following month, Robinson said that heterosexual couples are "superior" to gay couples because the latter cannot conceive a child together. Robinson compared homosexuality to cow manure, maggots, and flies, explaining that the latter all serve a purpose in God's creation; whereas, with homosexuality, Robinson remarked, "If homosexuality is of God, what purpose does it serve? What does it make? What does it create? It creates nothing." Also in October 2021 , Robinson declared in a speech that “Christian patriots of this nation will own this nation and rule this nation”. Personal life. Robinson and his wife, Yolanda, have two children. They live in High Point, North Carolina. Robinson had filed for bankruptcy on three occasions, has been sued for payments, and had liens placed on him by the Internal Revenue Service as recently as 2012. He has claimed that any outstanding issues with the IRS have been "taken care of". In a 2012 social media post, Robinson acknowledged that in 1989, he paid for a woman that he impregnated to get  an abortion. In 2022, Robinson clarified that the woman in question was his eventual wife, Yolanda, whom he married about a year after the incident.