Donald Trump said he doesn’t “know the situation” when asked if he still supports the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, Mark Robinson.
The scrutiny around Robinson’s candidacy reached fever pitch last week following a damning CNN investigation into his online behavior. The report found that Robinson made dozens of racist and sexually graphic comments on a pornography forum. The comments were posted during 2008-2012.
In some of the comments, Robinson called himself a “Black NAZI,” said he liked watching trans porn, referred to himself as a “perv,” and said he wished he could bring slavery back.
Robinson, the state’s current lieutenant governor, faced calls to drop out of the race following the revelations. Robinson denies the veracity of the report, and says he intends to remain in the race.
“Are you going to pull your endorsement of Mark Robinson?” a reporter asked the former president following remarks he made at Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday.
“Uh, I don’t know the situation,” Trump replied.
Trump has previously referred to Robinson as “Martin Luther King on steroids.” At a Greensboro rally in March, Trump said he told Robinson, “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.”