The MAGA Scramble to Defend Mark Robinson
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Mark Robinson is pointing a finger at artificial intelligence amid the recent revelations about disturbing comments he allegedly made on a porn site. Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina who is now the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee, suggested that the comments in which he apparently called himself a “black NAZI,” yearned for the restoration of slavery, and enjoyed reading Mein Kampf could have been artificially generated.
“Look, I’m not going to get into the minutiae about how somebody manufactured these salacious tabloid lies,” Robinson told CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski , who broke the original story . “But I can tell you this: There’s been over $1 million spent on me through AI by a billionaire’s son who’s bound and determined to destroy me. The things that people can do with the internet now is incredible,” Robinson insisted. “But what I can tell you is this: Again, these are not my words.”
Robinson’s claims of fakery—AI or otherwise—are extremely unlikely. As The Washington Post ’s Philip Bump notes , the CNN report linking Robinson to the porn site known as “Nude Africa” was “robust,” exposing “a digital trail that would be all but impossible to create artificially.” And not everyone in the GOP is buying Robinson’s excuse. Much of his senior staff has resigned, and the Trump campaign is reportedly distancing itself from Robinson, although Donald Trump’s endorsement of Robinson still stands.
But the existence of AI aids Robinson in his shoddy defense: Not only can the technology make fake stories believable, but its existence helps those who want to make true stories seem unbelievable. In this election, invoking AI is yet another tool for some Americans to alter facts so that they align with their desired reality. Trump, for example, falsely accused Kamala Harris of using AI to generate an image showing a large crowd at a rally. (Meanwhile, he himself has spread illusions online: He recently reposted a doctored photo of Harris with the accused sex offender Sean “Diddy” Combs —whose face is actually superimposed on the body of Montel Williams; Trump also shared a fake endorsement from Taylor Swift last month.) To be sure, many fake images of politicians—including Donald Trump— proliferate online, some of which use AI, but because this technology sows doubt about reality, it can also provide a convenient dodge for politicians confronted by uncomfortable facts.
Insinuating that AI played a role is just one of the tactics that Robinson and his defenders are using. Others have argued that the allegations are a targeted political attack without identifying exactly how such supposed lies were created. The GOP’s candidate for North Carolina attorney general, Dan Bishop, called the CNN report “a meticulously timed and coordinated character assassination.” The North Carolina Republican Party released a statement hours after the report was published, citing Robinson’s denial and accused “the Left” of “trying to demonize him via personal attacks.”
Others are using vague language to avoid taking a stand. Consider, for example, this tangled double negative from J. D. Vance when he was asked about Robinson’s denial: “I don’t not believe him; I don’t believe him—I just think you have to let these things play out sometimes in the court of public opinion.” Lindsey Graham also toed a careful line, although with clearer language. “The charges are beyond unnerving. If they’re true, he’s unfit to serve for office,” Graham said. But he seemed to leave the door open to the possibility that the story was false. “If they’re not true,” Graham said, “he has the best lawsuit in the history of the country, for libel.”
Then there are those who simply don’t care about the allegations. At a Trump rally in North Carolina over the weekend, The New York Times found that while few in attendance believed the story—many blamed the untrustworthiness of the media, according to the Times —some would support Robinson even if the reports of his racist, anti-Semitic, transphobic, and obscene posts were real. “Bryan Faulcon, 39, of Wilmington, said he didn’t believe the allegations,” the Times reported, “but even if they were true, Mr. Robinson still had his vote. The calculation was simple, Mr. Faulcon said: policy over character.”
Indeed, if these allegations mattered to voters, they would not have nominated Robinson in the first place, would they? This is, after all, someone who called the Holocaust “a bunch of hogwash,” referred to transgenderism and homosexuality as “filth,” and suggested this summer that “some folks need killing.” North Carolina’s GOP voters had ample evidence of who he was, and they chose him anyway. While some of the MAGA faithful have grabbed onto convenient manipulations of the evidence in front of them, these voters’ approach seems to be acceptance.
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Made it Ma, I 'borrowed' some White Heat and I'm top of the MAGA pyramid!
nazi references? he's just joking. slavery is good? he's anti-woking. transgender porn? more harmless stroking...
Huh?
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Most of us know what you meant.
trump likes him because he fits trump's mental stereotype of black males ...
Trump needs all the black he can get after he lost Diamond. Silk will probably still try to cast a vote for Trump in Diamond’s name though. That’s how Republicans do this.
normally, here is where I'd be apologizing to you and TG for anything insensitive to women in general I may have said to you in the past. however, I worked with dozen's of waitresses and bartenders for a decade, so I won't.
We know you and we love you anyway. No need for apologies to me
oops, I forgot the sarcasm tag. except for the bloodthirsty waitress/bartender part ...
I worked my way thru college waiting tables and tending bar
isn't that where you developed your vicious temperament?
I guess I need to try harder ...
YES! People with nasty kids tortured me and drunks at 2 AM not knowing the meaning of last call
we had tablecloths, no children's menu, and a last seating at 9:00pm ...
I wasn't high born enough to wait tables in a fancy restaurant
there aren't any in most goobervilles ...
He's lucky I like him
the women I worked with gave me a head on crash course in how the modern female mind functioned ...
are those places still hiring...?
awww... back at you ...
funny, when it comes to that maga thumper, I thought gluttony was a sin...
those are for the non-maga peons, like the law and taxes ... /s
mackerel snappers can get forgiveness with their last breath, no matter what they've done ...
mormons get absolute forgiveness if they can jump thru all the the hoops ...
thumpers think they're forgiven as soon as they're born again and can be as evil as they want, as long as they don't miss pitching a few bucks in the basket at the sunday meeting ...
Spent much of my life working as a musician, bouncer and bartender in nightclubs. Guess that explains my low opinion of most folk.
Why out of the gazillion hours in our lifetime do the few times everyone remembers from our life somehow involve a bar?
Boy Howdy! You sure were wasted that night in El Segundo!
folks that use the xtian religion as an excuse for their activities will never make it thru the pearly gates...
couldn't tell you how many acts I saw at tulagi's, but the only one I can somewhat remember was dan hicks and his hot licks in the mid 70's...
trump claimed he knew nothing about the scandal yesterday, since there's too much video with him and robinson for trump to deny even knowing him, this time ...
"Indeed, if these allegations mattered to voters, they would not have nominated Robinson in the first place, would they?"
Meh, allegations are just that. The leftists allege a lot against various right wingers. Show us the proof.
I thought you guys were all about, "Where there's smoke there's fire." Or is that only when there's a (D) after their name?
In this particular case of Mr Robinson, the proof was right on the websites in question. Over the weekend he was offered the services of IT and legal that would have helped him disprove the claims on the left and he turned those down.
Now why would he do that if he knew he wasn't guilty as claimed?
You know the answer to that question
he's got even more shit in his past about to hit the fan...
Oh do tell us more. . .I even tried to 'peek' him out on "Nude Africa's" comments section. . .but, it requires membership and I won't do that. So, I'm outside-looking in!
Could it be that his campaign staff personnel have already seen the 'dirty' I can't see? (The media keeps hinting there is som'-mo' heinous stuff he has said/written/done that they simply unprofessional and unfit for television.)
shit he posted online about obama in the past if I recall correctly. maybe the nazi in him objects to race mixing ...
His entire Republican staff resigned, quit or disappeared.
He was offered professional AI help and legal help and he declined loudly.
They've interviewed people from "the block" in Baltimore where he was a frequent flyer
who verified it.
He's done.
Good. Big fraudster needs to be sent 'packing.' We have enough lies stacked up to our eyeball-level with people who think that all they need to do is puff out their chests, talk loud, be contemptible, and somehow reckon all of that for political 'passion.' We will not be led astray by such 'theatrics.'
a trump endorsement costs the GOP another governor in gooberville ...
Ex-Porn Shop Staff Say Mark Robinson Was A Regular. He Denies It. (theassemblync.com)
His entire Republican staff resigned, quit or disappeared.
He was offered professional AI help and legal help and he declined loudly.
They've interviewed people from "the block" in Baltimore where he was a frequent flyer
who verified it.
He's done.
At this point I don't think there's any doubt that he'll lose the election.
Although some Republicans are still sticking by him:
Former President Trump dodged on whether he would retract his endorsement of North Carolina GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson following the explosive report about Robinson’s inflammatory online comments.
“I don’t know the situation,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter following a press conference he gave Thursday in New York City. (Link)
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... a cross caught fire and he was standing too close to it.
Sorry, the "block" in question ( every town must have one or two ) was in Greensboro NC
Follow The Pudding. .. follow the Pudding & The Truth will be revealed!!!
There is no defense. Robinson was coldass busted by CNN...
Some folks will still vote for him. I had property in Henderson NC once upon a time. This is the "we're all sinners" defense.
Well, there's a lot of sinners thereabouts. You wouldn't want him to leave before he finished his work, would you?
That's why polite old ladies in NC ( not exclusive to NC )
say "Well bless your heart" when they really mean
"Die you satanic witch moronic old sow".
Well, he may or may not love the "Lord", IDK. However whether or not any candidate for office loves the Lord or not-- that's not one of the things I take into consideration when deciding who to vote for.
(And I'm not the only one).
Robinson has a long record of disturbing comments, even before this latest instance. It all adds up to people who support him should be ashamed of themselves.
But. . .they can't be ashamed of him as they agree with him about his perspective. Such people want to do the 'work' that God has not done or called them to do: Kill somebody! They really, really, really, feel this way (in their hearts) rather or not it ever makes it out of through their fingers. A the least, they commiserate with any individual or group who discusses "handling its business" with "some people needing killing!"
The problem is Mark "Big-ums" Robinson has baggage. . . and he might have to be judged too! And so each and every one of them gets a moment of reflection to check their own backstory out and decide about the man or woman looking back at them in the mirror.
Best to just get rid of Big-ums, he can not be the face of North Carolina's 'movement' to reclassify, demote, or get rid of "Others" in the state!
This "latest instance" happened when?
And
How has he gotten away with it for so long?
So 69 plus comments and not one critique of the things GOP LT Gov Mark Robinson has said in his past from the trumpists on this site that can find silly and petty details about name pronounciation and how a woman laughs (as if it matters) in a nation concerned about immigration and economics and more. It informs us that trumpists are only here to denigrate liberals and not for a love of right and wrong (at least as they perceive it). Trumpists are selective of the truth!
Follow The Pudding. .. follow the Pudding & The Truth will be revealed!!!