Black Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina was compared by former President Donald Trump to “Martin Luther King on steroids,” with Robinson asserting that he was “better than” the civil rights activist.
Speaking to a large group of supporters on Saturday at an event in North Carolina, Trump mentioned Martin Luther King Jr. after expressing his admiration for their lieutenant governor’s oratory skills.
In the past, Trump claimed to have compared Robinson—a devoted buddy whom he has supported for governor of North Carolina—to “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
According to Trump, he told Robinson straight that he is “Martin Luther King times two,” and he wasn’t sure the politician took it well.
But, you know, I heard him coming in on the plane, I was listening, and I said to the people in the plane, ‘Watch this, this is Martin Luther King on steroids.’ Okay?
Now, I told that, I told that to Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.’ And he looked at me and I wasn’t sure, was he angry, because that’s a terrible thing to say? Or was he complimented? I have never figured it out.
But I’m telling you, he’s more than — right? When I said that to you, you looked like, I don’t know if I like that comment.
You should like it because you are outstanding and you’re going to be the next governor. So that’s going to be very cool.
Trump says Mark Robinson, GOP candidate for North Carolina Governor, is “MLK Jr. on steroids”
pic.twitter.com/wXLTXL6Ca2— 💋🇺🇸 Country Over Party🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇦 (@gagirlpolitics) March 2, 2024
Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington, D.C. in June, Robinson became the first prominent supporter of the former president to endorse Trump for reelection.
Considered to be a divisive character among leftist detractors, Robinson is a preacher who has received backlash for remarks he has made in the past regarding women, Muslims, Jews, and LGBT people.
For instance, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for governor of North Carolina has used antisemitic tropes, harshly mocked survivors of school shootings who supported gun control legislation, and suggested that homosexuality is a prelude to pedophilia.
Robinson backed down from some of his earlier social media postings in October, insisting he was not antisemitic.
“There have been some Facebook posts that were poorly worded on my part,” he said in remarks before the state Legislature, adding: “There is no antisemitism standing here in front of you.”
In 2021, Robinson faced calls to resign for saying, “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth.”
In response, he said he would “fight for” the rights of the LGBTQ community.
“Let me be clear: I will fight for and protect the rights of all citizens, including those in the LGBTQ community to express themselves however they want,” he said at the time. “That is their right as Americans, and I don’t think the government has any role in telling them otherwise. However, the idea that our children should be taught about concepts of transgenderism and be exposed to sexually explicit materials in the classrooms is abhorrent.”
Trump compared the lieutenant governor to the renowned civil rights activist for the second time, at least, in his remarks made in Greensboro.
“First, it was the voice,” Trump said of Robinson in a video posted online from an event at Mar-a-Lago in December. “And then, I said, ‘You know what, I swear, I think you’re better than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Trump said.
While speaking at the Black Conservative Federation’s annual gala in South Carolina, Trump addressed his multiple ridiculous indictments, which has only garnered him more support from the African American community.
“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time, and a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against,” he said.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt called Robinson “a great American who is well respected by the people of North Carolina” in a statement to NBC News.
“The mainstream media’s attacks on African Americans who support President Trump is old and exhausting,” she added, “but we expect them to increase as polling proves more and more Black Americans are choosing to support Trump over Biden.”