Newly unearthed social media posts apparently shared by North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson are creating yet more controversy for someone seen as a rising star in the GOP.
Robinson, who’s viewed as a front-runner in North Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary, has faced backlash for putrid posting in the past (more on that in a moment). But the latest report on offensive social media posts could land him in hot water as well.
As Jewish Insider reported: “In a series of previously unreported Facebook posts, which remain publicly available, Robinson shared a quotation attributed to Adolf Hitler, compared the toppling of a Confederate statue to Kristallnacht and frequently minimized the legacy of the Holocaust while decrying the threat of communism, among other inflammatory remarks.”
The quote attributed to Hitler endorses the idea of “pride in one’s own race.” A Robinson spokesperson didn’t return Jewish Outsider’s request for comment, the outlet reported.
Not responding appears to be his modus operandi when it comes to stories about his social media posts. Last week, HuffPost reported that his representatives didn’t respond when asked for comment on some truly disgusting and misogynistic Facebook posts he appears to have shared about various women, including Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Taylor Swift, Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey.
But that wasn’t the first time Robinson’s social media activity has come under scrutiny. Last year, in a post on this blog about his idea that students don’t need to be taught social studies and science until sixth grade, I noted that he also had faced backlash for writing that a “satanic marxist” had made the movie “Black Panther,” based on a comic book hero created by an “agnostic Jew,” to pull “shekels” (Israeli currency) out of Black people’s pockets.
Two weeks ago, Robinson sought to downplay such remarks. At an event he held to show solidarity with Israel, which some criticized as a publicity stunt ahead of next year’s election, Robinson conceded that there “have been some Facebook posts that were poorly worded on my part” but added: “There is no antisemitism standing here in front of you.”
Understandably, that may have been hard for many to believe. And this week’s report from Jewish Insider won’t make accepting such a claim any easier.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.