Mark Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor and a gubernatorial candidate, is a MAGA acolyte through and through. I’ve written on why select Black conservatives like him have risen in the GOP in recent years, but in short, his election denialism, blatant anti-intellectualism and outspoken bigotry against Jewish people, women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups have made him a popular figure on the right and earned him a space in elite conservative circles, too.
Just weeks ago, Trump praised the candidate during an event at Mar-a-Lago, saying, “I think you’re better than Dr. Martin Luther King.”
Now the Daily Beast is out with more evidence to suggest Robinson boasts an extensive right-wing Rolodex.
The outlet reports on documentation it obtained through a FOIA request that Robinson’s calendar listed a previously unreported meeting with Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative extremist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in March 2021. The subject of the meeting is unknown but came mere weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — the culmination of Thomas and other conservatives’ pressure campaign to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss. Neither Thomas nor Robinson returned the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
The Daily Beast reports:
“According to a copy of Robinson’s official schedule, which was produced through a Freedom of Information Act request, the lieutenant governor had a meeting with Thomas on March 30, 2021. But Robinson didn’t just speak with Thomas that afternoon; the calendar note indicates he met with Thomas and a group she helped run called Frontliners for Liberty.
Here’s a CNBC report on FrontLiners for Liberty, a Facebook “activist” group that Thomas worked with to promote attempts to overturn Trump’s election loss, as well as to connect members with Trump associates like lawyer (and Trump co-defendant) John Eastman.
The Beast’s report on Robinson’s meeting with Thomas follows the recent release of…
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