Trump’s event occurred shortly after the GOP’s gubernatorial contender, whom he has consistently supported, faced a significant wave of unfavorable scrutiny.
A political tempest is consuming battleground North Carolina. When Donald Trump arrived for a rally on Saturday, he did not approach the venue.
The ex-president’s previously arranged campaign event in Wilmington assumed significant importance following a deluge of adverse scrutiny, which Republicans contend has jeopardized the gubernatorial candidacy of Mark Robinson, raising concerns about its potential impact on Trump’s prospects.
During a speech exceeding one hour, Trump generously greeted notable North Carolina Republicans, including Senator Ted Budd, Representatives Dan Bishop and David Rouzer, state GOP Chair Jason Simmons, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley, and Florida GOP Representative Anna Paulina Luna.
Robinson is notably absent.
The lieutenant governor’s faltering campaign to seize the state’s governorship was severely compromised on Thursday when CNN released a report detailing his lascivious and provocative remarks on a pornographic website, which included his interest in transgender pornography and advocacy for the reinstatement of slavery, among other subjects.
Robinson has declined to resign, and Republicans are attempting to manage the repercussions. Polls indicate that Trump is nearly equal in support to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has rapidly sought to exploit the crisis.
Trump’s visit occurred coincidentally, just days after the report emerged.
The former president has not withdrawn his backing of the contentious and currently beleaguered lieutenant governor. He has consistently commended Robinson throughout his previous visits to the state, once comparing him to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “on steroids,” and, most recently in Asheboro, referring to him as “a great one.”
I’m reminded of a Trump 1992 Mar-a-largo part where Donald Trump and Jeffery Epstein were talking about girls together.