Axios: “North Carolina’s Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson “paid” for the abortion of his “unborn child in 1989,” according to his personal Facebook comments from 2012.
Why it matters: Robinson has surged to the front of the list of prospective GOP candidates for governor in 2024, while repeatedly emphasizing his opposition to abortion as a speaker at anti-abortion rallies and other political events.
- In a speech at the North Carolina GOP’s 2021 state convention, Robinson reportedly said that once a woman is pregnant, “it’s not (her) body anymore.”
Driving the news: A Twitter user shared a screenshot Tuesday of the 2012 comment, along with Robinson’s original Facebook post on what appears to be his personal account. In the post, he asked, “How can so many people ‘Praise God’ with their mouths then vote for a man who supports gay marriage and abortion with their hands,” in reference to former President Barack Obama.
- In a separate comment, also in 2012, Robinson made the same claim, while saying it was wrong for him to have paid for the abortion.
- “It’s wrong when others do it and it was wrong when I ( YES I ) paid to have MY own child aborted in 1989,” he wrote.
Worth noting: Robinson’s office did not respond to numerous calls, texts and emails from Axios Tuesday or Wednesday, asking about the post and Robinson’s personal Facebook account and their authenticity. But the lieutenant governor himself has gone live from the account many times.”
UPDATE: Lt. Gov. Robinson has released a video response.