Newsmax's Greg Kelly defends Mark Robinson after bombshell reporting: “Sir, remain strong”

Kelly: “It is a phony baloney scandal.” It's a “fake news story about some internet activity he may or may not have had on a pornography site 10 years ago — like that's going to shock anybody really in this day and age. It's not.”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Newsmax host Greg Kelly is discussing CNN's report on North Carolina's Lt. Gov and Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson: 

Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found.

Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a “perv.”

From the September 19, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports

GREG KELLY (HOST): Mark Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina, he is running for governor right now, folks. And there is an urgent effort to get him out of the race. Sir, remain strong. He can win this thing and winning it just might be pivotal for Donald Trump winning North Carolina. It is a phony baloney scandal. I'll get to it in a second. But first, this is how this guy arrived on the scene. A regular dude with a job and concerns about his Second Amendment rights, he showed up at a town hall meeting and had a few things to say about some of the unconstitutional laws they were throwing around.

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KELLY: I love it, I love it. That went viral. It catapulted him into political stardom. He is now the lieutenant governor. Might be the next governor if he doesn't drop out, and there's pressure to drop out, but he says he's not going to do it. Please, sir. I don't think he is actually. Now, why? What happened?

This — a fake news story about some internet activity he may or may not have had on a pornography site ten years ago — like that's going to shock anybody really in this day and age. It's not. And quite frankly, it shouldn't. We'll talk about that in a moment. What's really — I mean, let's be real here, OK? He made this statement just a little while ago.

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KELLY: Yeah, they did do that. You know what they did to Clarence Thomas? They went to the video store to find out what he was renting, and they put that in the newspaper. Oh, there may have been adult films in that list. Oh, boy. This is an adult website from ten years ago, and he may or may not have made a comment on it. Pornography has exploded, OK? It's not exactly taboo. Maybe it should be. People get hooked on this stuff. This is the great thing about Mark Robinson, though, and quite frankly, MAGA in general — the sexualization of kids is completely, totally offensive and wrong to all of us. And this is Democratic mainstream policy right now. I don't care what the guy may have said or not have said. I don't hold it against him. It's none of my business or yours or anybody else's. So let's get real here. And good luck, Lieutenant Governor — soon to be governor, I hope — Mark Robinson.