Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson may be down in the polls, but he showed some spunk this week during a Charlotte appearance that was open to the media.
The lieutenant governor spoke at a Hood Hargett Breakfast Club lunch in south Charlotte. Axios reporter Alexandria Sands wrote an excellent report on his comments.
But an interesting moment occurred when Charlotte marketing executive Jessica Graham asked Robinson about his much-publicized 2019 Facebook Live comment that women need to “keep their skirts down” to avoid abortions.
The comment gained widespread media attention and has been used in campaign ads supporting Robinson’s opponent, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein.
Before Robinson could answer, his press aide David Keltz grabbed the microphone from Graham and asked who wanted to ask the next question.
Robinson quickly responded that he would answer Graham’s question. He said that Stein’s campaign had edited the political ad to exclude the rest of Robinson’s comment. “I said keep their skirts down and their pants up,” suggesting men also have a responsibility to behave. Stein showed a disrespect for the truth because of the selective editing, Robinson added.
Graham, who says she is an independent not tied to either party, credits Robinson for answering the question. She had previously asked Robinson if he was a Holocaust denier. Absolutely not, he said, adding that he is a fervent supporter of Israel.
After the event, Keltz said Graham had asked a previous question and that he wanted others to have a chance to query Robinson before the candidate left the restaurant.
During his talk, Robinson said he knew of concerns that some businesses might avoid North Carolina because of some previous comments on social issues. As governor, he would be tightly focused on the economy and education, he said, emphasizing his disinterest in pushing for tighter restrictions on abortion than the current 12-week limit.
“Don’t let them tell you I’m going to go into office and be some wild, crazy culture warrior,” he said.
A Business North Carolina reader sent this transcript of Robinson’s comment in 2019, which sparked the controversy.
“Everybody knows that abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It is about convenience. It is about abortion on demand. That is exactly what it’s about. It’s about killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down or your pants up and not get pregnant by your own choice because you felt like getting your groove thing on. And now instead of taking care of that child, you want to kill that child, so your life can go on being all easy street, and you can keep running to the club every Friday night. Everybody listening to me knows that 99.9% of the abortions that are, uh, done in this country are done for those reasons. It’s not done because I’m too poor, or I don’t have enough money.”
