President Donald J. Trump held a fundraiser on a mid-December night in Florida for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s campaign for Governor.
It is commonly known that Trump has a very soft place in his heart for the Tar Heel state, often visiting at critical times in his campaigns to rally N.C. voters.
Trump won the state in 2016 and 2020, and he is making it clear who he wants to see sitting in the Governor’s mansion in Raleigh in 2024- Mark Robinson- the man who stunned America with his 2018 “I am the Majority speech” at the Greensboro town council.
Remember this?
That was the foundation for Robinson’s victory as Lt. Gov in 2020, just two years later. Now, with Trump’s full support, Robinson is running to be North Carolina’s Governor.
HERE IS WHAT TRUMP SAID AT THE DEC FUNDRAISER FOR MARK ROBINSON:
I want to thank everybody for whatever you can do to help Mark and Yolanda win this election. You know, he’s got a tough opponent in Josh Stein, not a good opponent, but a tough opponent because Stein is a political person.
So it’s not going to be that easy. But Mark is a star, so many times people say, well, this will be easy for Mark because he is such a start, and then they forget to vote. They don’t go out to vote. You got to get out and vote.
But you have to help them financially too because you all have a lot of money. I know. About 20 of you, and you are rich as hell. So anything you were going to do, quadruple it, or it doesn’t mean a damn thing.
You have to cherish people like Mark and Yolanda and love him as a candidate. It’s like a fine wine because that’s what you have. You have a fine wine. He’s an outstanding person. I’ve gotten to know him so well and reasonably quickly.
And you know I didn’t have to call when he endorsed me. Hey, would you support me? He just did it.
WATCH TRUMP’S COMMENTS ABOUT ROBINSON:
POLLING
Here are the polls so far:
N.C. Public Radio reported on the details of the event:
The event was held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, with tickets that started at $1,000. A handful of GOP congressional and statewide candidates were in attendance, including 6th District candidate Bo Hines (whom Trump had endorsed in 2022), labor commissioner candidate Luke Farley, and lieutenant governor candidate Hal Weatherman.
Trump said it’s rare for him to host fundraisers for state candidates, but his support for Robinson has continued for several years since the two first met and became friends.
“I don’t do this at Mar-a-Lago very often,” Trump said. “I do it for a few people. I do it for friends. I do it for people that I feel strongly about. I think he’s going to go down as one of the great leaders in our country.”
Robinson, who has always supported Trump, endorsed him for president some weeks before the fundraiser. Robinson said at a D.C. event in June that the United States “is at war, and we need a warrior at the helm.”
At Tuesday’s Florida fundraiser, Robinson introduced Trump as “the greatest president in United States history.”
N.C. Public Radio reported that Trump’s support for Robinson comes days after embattled U.S. Senator Thom Tillis endorsed Robinson’s Republican opponent, Salisbury attorney Bill Graham.
Tillis, who is highly disfavored in the state, relied upon Trump’s support to maintain his seat, even after often betraying Trump and the people of North Carolina; Tillis recently argued that, in his opinion, Robinson doesn’t have the experience needed to serve as Governor.
However, that is precisely how Robinson wants people to see him as an outsider and a “Citizen Governor.”
Robinson is crying over not getting Tillis’ endorsement:
Robinson faces State Treasurer Dale Folwell, who is giving up his position as a treasurer to run against Robinson, and former state Sen. Andy Wells in the GOP primary.
Attorney General Josh Stein, former Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan, and two others are seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor.
WATCH ROBINSON’S SHOUT-OUT TO CANDIDATE HAL WEATHERMAN:
Robinson took the opportunity to shout out to Republican Lt. Gov. Candidate Hal Weatherman, who served with former U.S. Representative Sue Myrick as Chief of Staff and then with Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest as Chief of Staff for a decade.
Weatherman posted details of the night, reporting that he and his campaign had a fundraiser as well:
Here are some of our past articles and coverage of Robinson: