‘REALLY?!’ MSNBC’s Jen Psaki Torches Trump And ‘Cringeworthy Caginess’ Of GOP On Mark Robinson ‘Black Nazi’ Scandal
MSNBC host Jen Psaki tore into former President Donald Trump and the “cringeworthy caginess” of GOP leaders over the scandal surrounding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Robinson — whom Trump has called “Martin Luther King on steroids” — is embroiled in a scandal that includes revelations he declared himself a “Black NAZI!” and “expressed support for reinstating slavery” along with sexual views that don’t align with his campaign rhetoric.
On Monday’s edition of MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki, Psaki opened her show with a blistering commentary on Trump’s silence and the failure of Republican leaders to clearly speak out against Robinson:
JEN PSAKI, MSNBC HOST: OK, there is a lot going on, but I want to start tonight with the dumpster fire — that’s the only way to call it — that is still raging in North Carolina, because it’s actually about more than one crazy guy. And, believe me, he’s definitely crazy, if you have read any of the things he said.
And it’s also about more than one important swing state. And, believe me, North Carolina is very important. But this really is a story about the corner the Republican Party has backed itself into.
As I’m sure you have all heard by now, or probably wish you could unhear or unsee, if you have been paying attention, Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, posted a whole lot of stuff on a porn site. He called himself a Black Nazi, expressed support for reinstating slavery, and called MLK an “effing commie” — his words, not mine.
That was all according to a very thorough report from CNN that came out just last week.
Now, surprise, surprise, ever since then, Robinson has repeatedly denied making those comments. And what we heard from him today was just about as Trumpy as you can get.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GOV. MARK ROBINSON (R-NC), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We’re in talks right now, everything up to legal counsel, to take CNN to task for what they have done to us. We are going after them, OK? We are going to go after them for what they have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: Hmm, threatening to sue a media organization for reporting on something you actually did. I wonder who he learned that trick from.
So, that’s Mark Robinson’s response.
Now, when it comes to the rest of the Republican Party, not all of them, but many Republican leaders, we are seeing some flashes of what you would expect to see in the wake of a scandal like this. I mean, four of Robinson’s top staff members resigned over the weekend.
The Republican Governors Association is cutting off their spending, writing in a statement today — quote — “Our current media buy in North Carolina expires tomorrow and no further placements have been made.” That’s all they said.
So, yes, Robinson is losing staff. And he’s not getting any more money from the Republican Governors Association. None of that is a good sign for any campaign, to state the obvious. They’re all but forfeiting this race for governor in North Carolina, which he was already losing before this.
But here’s the thing. Even as staff abandons him and the money dries up, no one is speaking up forcefully as to why those things are happening, even though it’s quite obvious as to why those things are happening. There was no condemnation of antisemitism in those statements from staffers or the RGA, no denouncement of the self-proclaimed black Nazi comments.
And there has been no denouncement of any of that from far too many leaders of the Republican Party. I mean, Donald Trump, who has absolutely zero self-control whatsoever — I think we can all grant that — just spent the last few weeks waxing poetic about pets, who defends the indefensible every chance he gets, that guy did not mention Robinson once this weekend during a rally in North Carolina, of all places.
His running mate, JD Vance, did manage to say something about all of this, while really saying nothing at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Do you believe him that those were not his posts?
SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I — I don’t not believe him. I don’t believe him. I just think that you have to let these things sometimes play out in the court of public opinion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: “I don’t not believe him.” I’m wondering if somebody wrote that down as a talking point for him. I don’t know the backstory, but not to worry.
JD Vance took another crack at it today in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: What he said or didn’t say is also only between him and the people of North Carolina. The people of North Carolina are going to make that decision.
Now, look, I have seen some of the statements. I haven’t seen them all. Some of them are pretty gross, to put it mildly. Mark Robinson says that those statements are false, that he didn’t actually speak — speak them. So I think it’s up to Mark Robinson to make his case to the people of North Carolina that those weren’t his statements.
(CHEERING)
VANCE: And I’m going to let him make that case. A sex scandal in North Carolina is between the lieutenant governor and the people of North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: A sex scandal? I mean, he was on a porn site, but there was no mention of the black Nazi stuff or the praising “Mein Kampf,” none at all.
And then the profile in courage — in courage continued today with House Speaker Mike Johnson. When asked if he supports Robinson, a man who never misses a moment to talk about his faith and how important it is to him, a man who has spoken repeatedly out against antisemitism, said this — quote — “I’m not involved in the North Carolina governor’s race. I got enough on my hands.”
OK.
And Senator Tom Cotton echoed that nonanswer answer just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think that Trump should still support Mark Robinson in North Carolina?
SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): I will leave that to President Trump. And, most importantly, I will leave it to the people of North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: I mean, really!? The guy applauds Mein Kampf on a porn site, and that’s the best you can do? You knew you were going to be asked about it.
Senator Lindsey Graham managed to somehow, though, outdo Tom Cotton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I think what’s going to happen here is that he deserves a chance to defend himself, Mark Robinson. The charges are beyond unnerving. If they’re true, he’s unfit to serve for office. If they’re not true, he has the best lawsuit in the history of the country for libel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: I could go on, but I think I have made the point.
What we’re really watching here with this uncharacteristic silence from Trump and that cringeworthy caginess from all of those Republican allies is basically a pocket veto in real time.
No, they’re not saying they do support Robinson, but they’re not saying they don’t either. I mean, none of these leaders in the Republican Party have just flat out forcefully said what I think should be a layup of response to all of this.
And that is this: This is wrong. There is no place for bigotry, antisemitism, sexism, racism, hate, or any flirtation with Nazism of any kind in our party.
That should not be hard to do for anyone, but none of them have said that, because they can’t say that, because, if they say that about Mark Robinson, then they have to say that about Donald Trump and JD Vance. If they speak out against the bigotry and hate that Robinson clearly stands for, then they’re speaking out against the leader of their own party too.
That would require a level of political courage that, unfortunately, very few of them seem to possess.
Now, just in the last few minutes, we learned that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp pulled his endorsement of Mark Robinson, so I guess there’s that.
Watch above via MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki.
