Appearing on Fox News, Sen. Lindsey Graham tried his hardest to separate Donald Trump from the controversy surrounding North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson. The South Carolina Republican is predictably standing by his man Trump, but the irony in his excuses is too obvious to ignore.
CNN reported last week that Robinson, whom Trump has called “Martin Luther King on steroids,” had once described himself as a Black Nazi and longed for the return of slavery on a pornographic website’s message board; Robinson has denied making the posts.
The South Carolina Republican is predictably standing by his man Trump, but the irony in his excuses is too obvious to ignore.
Graham said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” over the weekend that Robinson must defend himself. Speaking with Sean Hannity a day later, he sounded ready to throw Robinson under the bus.
Democrats are “trying to make people believe that Donald Trump somehow’s involved with Mar— with the Robinson guy,” Graham said, obscuring Robinson’s name.
Of course, it’s not all that hard to make people believe Trump is somehow involved with Robinson, considering that the former president has endorsed him and repeatedly praised him — and even held a fundraiser for him at Mar-a-Lago.
Graham also told Hannity: “It would be unfair to say that somebody you wrote a letter about or even your own pastor — you own every stupid thing they did. We’d be crucified politically if we did that.”
Lindsey Graham: Their campaign in North Carolina is trying to make people believe that Donald Trump is somehow involved with Mar— with the Robinson guy. pic.twitter.com/c155mLP7xR
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 24, 2024
Of course, Republicans did do what Graham described — to Barack Obama, when they attacked the then-presidential candidate in 2008 over remarks made by Jeremiah Wright, his pastor at the time.
Wright and Robinson are not one and the same. But it’s worth noting that Obama ultimately did denounce Wright. And Republicans still sought to use Wright as a cudgel to attack him years later.
Of course, Republicans did do what Graham described — to Barack Obama.
Compare that with the present-day situation. Robinson is merely a politician Trump supports, not his pastor. And far from denouncing him, Trump hasn’t even pulled his endorsement (as of Tuesday afternoon) or even uttered a word about Robinson’s latest controversy.
Graham’s excuse could not have been any more desperate or detached from reality.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.