Lt. Gov. Robinson responds to ads featuring his comments about abortion and women keeping their ‘skirt down’

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee in the North Carolina governor’s race, is pushing back on recent ads that feature him making statements about abortion including women not being “responsible enough to keep your skirt down”.

A video CBS 17 obtained from a fundraiser last week shows Robinson addressing the comment when asked about it and other controversies. The video can be viewed below:

“That was about a 30-minute, 20-minute talk where we talked about the irresponsibility of young men being paramount in that situation,” Robinson said. “That’s why they only play that much of the entire thing. They try to make it look as bad as possible because I truly am opposed to abortion as birth control. That is what we were referring to.”

Robinson also spoke about the law Republicans in the state legislature enacted last year, restricting abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy. It includes exceptions for rape, incest, protecting the mother’s life and life-limiting fetal anomalies.

As previously reported, Robinson has said the “next goal” for the state should be implementing restrictions at six weeks “and then just keep moving from there”. But at last week’s event, he said he “fully supports” the current 12-week law.

“We understand some people are going to get caught in situations where they’re going to have to make difficult decisions,” he said. “That’s the reason why we fully support the bill that was passed in the legislature. I have my opinions about abortion. I have my religious opinion and my personal opinion about it. But guess what does not rule the state of North Carolina? My opinion or yours.”

The lieutenant governor continued, “It’s the will of the people. Even as a Christian, I have to be mature enough to accept that everybody is not going to believe like I do.”

Robinson also said as governor, he would partner with crisis pregnancy centers. He added believes the issue “is not a legislative fight”.

“This is a spiritual battle,” he said. “If the churches would do their part, then maybe we could get something done about it.”

Robinson’s comments have been featured in ads from the campaign of North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee in the gubernatorial election.

Democrats pointed to past comments in which Robinson called abortion “murder”.

“We’ve heard from Mark Robinson that he would happily support a total abortion ban if he was to become the next governor,” state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said Wednesday.

In response to the video, Stein campaign spokesperson Kate Frauenfelder said, “In what context does Mark Robinson think blaming abortion on women not being ‘responsible enough to keep their skirt down’ appropriate?”

The lieutenant governor also responded at the event to a question about his past statements regarding Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. In 2018, Robinson wrote on Facebook , “This foolishness about Hitler disarming millions of Jews and marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash.” He has also faced criticism for other social media posts in which he used Jewish stereotypes and wrote about different conspiracy theories.

The video shows Robinson saying he was not attempting to say that the Holocaust itself was “hogwash.”

“I said that the narrative that Adolf Hitler created gun control and then killed six million people is hogwash,” he said. “They can read, but they can’t comprehend.”

Robinson pointed to the declaration he made in support of Israel soon after the attack by Hamas and the trip he took there with two Republican state senators.

“The people who are saying this, I want you to ask yourself a question,” Robinson said. “Why is it I had to wait until [Governor] Roy Cooper left the country to show the state of North Carolina stands with the people of Israel?”

Robinson also spoke about the recent protests on college campuses, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Jewish students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came to my office and begged me for relief because they were being assaulted, harassed, and threatened and Josh Stein wouldn’t even answer their phone call,” he said.

CBS 17 contacted Robinson’s campaign for more information about this statement.

Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for Stein said, “We’re not aware of any such group reaching out to our office. We work to respond to all constituent concerns and are always happy to meet with North Carolinians to discuss safety concerns, policy ideas, and other issues. If you hear directly from the student group, please do be sure to send them our way.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.