Mark Robinson is an unabashed Christian nationalist and virulent anti-LGBTQ bigot who has a long history of making offensive and antisemitic comments. As of last night, he is now officially the Republican Party's nominee for governor in North Carolina.
In 2020, Robinson was catapulted from relative obscurity to the lieutenant governor’s office because, he says, he has been chosen by God to "literally make war on the devil” and see that this nation is “led by the people of God.” Robinson describes himself as “more preacher than politician" who has to constantly remind himself that we live in a constitutional republic, "not a theocracy." And he is also an unabashed authoritarian who has demanded that Christians get “warlike” in order to defeat “the enemies of freedom” who are supposedly trying to destroy the nation.
When Robinson first announced his bid for governor, Right Wing Watch chronicled his far-right Christian nationalist fanaticism. And now that he is one step closer, it is once again worth highlighting just how genuinely radical he is:
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.”
There is perhaps no better encapsulation of Robinson's radicalism than his assertion that if you think he is crazy, that is only "because you're insane."
Mark Robinson has a message for naysayers who think he can't be elected governor of North Carolina because he's too right-wing and crazy: "I'm not crazy ... I look crazy to you because you're insane." pic.twitter.com/xY39xFqtAC
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 23, 2023
