Mark Robinson, the current lieutenant governor of North Carolina, is an unabashed Christian nationalist and virulent anti-LGBTQ bigot who made no secret of his plans to run for governor of the state in 2024. Despite claiming that he does not want to be governor, Robinson official launched his bid for the office during a rally Saturday in Altamahaw, North Carolina.
Republican insiders are reportedly concerned that Robinson's radical views and past statements could make him "a liability" should he win the GOP nomination. And they have good reason to be worried.
Robinson describes himself as "more preacher than politician," and that is no exaggeration, as he has bragged that it is his mission "to literally make war on the devil" and see to it that this nation is "led by the people of God." For years, Robinson has been working closely with Christian nationalist political operative David Lane to ensure that their Christian nationalist values “reign supreme” throughout North Carolina. To that end, Robinson has demanded that Christians get “warlike” if they are to defeat “the enemies of freedom” who are supposedly trying to destroy the nation.
In his speeches, he’s given a sense of whom he views as enemies of freedom.
Speaking at a religious-right Faith and Freedom Coalition event in 2021, Robinson asserted that "this will always be a Christian nation" and told those who disagree, “If you don’t like it, I’ll buy your plane, train, or automobile ticket right up out of here.”
"The Christian patriots of this nation will own this nation and rule this nation and help freedom survive for future generations," Robinson proclaimed during another speech in October 2021.
Robinson also holds radical views regarding the Second Amendment, proclaiming that guns are a gift from God given to Americans to fight off a "tyrannical" government like the Biden administration.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson declares that the Biden administration is "tyrannical:" "This is the type of government the Second Amendment was made for." pic.twitter.com/wsLcboXgiP
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) November 23, 2021
But those views pale in comparison to the attacks he levels on the LGBTQ community, whose issues and identities he has decried as "filth."
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says Christians must take control of public schools because children are being abused by being taught "filth": "There's no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth." pic.twitter.com/aXjCPFKTs0
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 6, 2021
"If there’s a movement in this country that is demonic and that is full of the spirit of Antichrist, it is the transgender movement," Robinson proclaimed while preaching at a virulently anti-LGBTQ church in North Carolina in 2021.
While preaching at another North Carolina church that same year, Robinson asserted that those pushing to protect transgender rights do so because they want to molest children.
In fact, attacking LGBTQ issues is a hallmark of Robinson's speeches, like when he preached that homosexuality is "ugly" and serves no purpose.
“I’m tired of this society trying to tell me it’s not so,” Robinson thundered. “Society has completely purged God from the building and from the equation, and because of it, we’re headed down into a rabbit hole that’s gonna lead us to something we can’t even imagine. God destroyed a society because of its morality. And let’s get this straight: In this country, we don’t have a homosexual issue—that’s just a tool of the devil to continue to divide us and lead us into immorality.”
Robinson is an extremist even by the traditional standards of Christian nationalists and anti-LGBTQ activists, and it is downright alarming that someone holding these views could potentially become a governor and use the reins of power to impose such views on an entire state.
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