Trump grapples with fallout from Mark Robinson’s latest scandal: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, we look at how Donald Trump is handling the political fallout from CNN’s bombshell report on North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson. Plus, “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker breaks down how the polls have changed over the past two months ahead of a new NBC News poll this weekend.

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Trump has no plan to pull his endorsement of Mark Robinson after alleged porn site scandal

By Matt Dixon, Katherine Doyle, Olympia Sonnier and Kristen Welker

Donald Trump is facing calls both from his allies and from within his own campaign to pull his endorsement of scandal-plagued North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

So far, however, there are no plans for the former president to formally drop him.

CNN reported Thursday that Robinson posted a series of offensive comments on a pornography website between 2008 and 2012, before he became lieutenant governor. In a statement, the Trump campaign did not directly address the underlying reporting about Robinson, whom the former president endorsed in March and has called “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

“President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving the country,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “North Carolina is a vital part of that plan. We are confident that as voters compare the Trump record of a strong economy, low inflation, a secure border, and safe streets, with the failure of Biden-Harris, then President Trump will win the Tarheel State once again.”

There are pockets of advisers within the Trump campaign who have quietly been urging him to withdraw his endorsement of Robinson, but so far those requests have fallen on deaf ears, according to a campaign official who, like others in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak about the matter freely. 

Additionally, Republican members of the North Carolina congressional delegation, including Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who is from North Carolina, planned to privately urge Trump to pull his endorsement of Robinson, according to a person familiar with the conversations.

The political fallout from Robinson’s past comments could be particularly tough for Trump because of the importance of North Carolina as one of seven key swing states on the presidential map. But Trump rarely backtracks on endorsements publicly because he has long believed doing so makes him look weak. 

Robinson will not be attending a Trump rally planned for Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina, according to a person familiar with planning for the event, even though he has been in attendance at past Trump events in the state.

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How Democrats are handling it: Democrats have quickly sought to capitalize on the scandal engulfing Robinson. The DNC launched digital ads and billboards featuring Trump heaping praise on Robinson, while a new Harris campaign ad links Trump to Robinson’s past anti-abortion comments. But as Ben Kamisar notes, neither of the campaigns mention the inflammatory comments laid out in the CNN report.

What’s changed in the past two months of the 2024 race

By Kristen Welker

The last time we released a national NBC News poll was back in July. That survey was in the field before President Joe Biden’s departure from the 2024 race and the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. 

Think of everything else that’s transpired in the two months since then: Two party conventions, two vice presidential selections, a second apparent assassination attempt on Trump, and the first (and likely only) debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

And guess what: We have a new NBC News poll coming out Sunday on “Meet the Press” that we hope captures everything that’s happened since July.

Now, I’m not going to tease any numbers from our poll — you’ll have to tune in on Sunday — but I do want to focus on what other polls have shown after the last two months.

The recent polling of the presidential race has shown three consistent storylines.

1. Democrats are in a stronger polling position today than they’ve been this entire year, thanks to the party’s change at the top of the ticket.

2. The battleground map looks more favorable for Democrats than it had been previously. That’s especially true in the important Rust Belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

3. The presidential contest remains close, with most of these national and state poll results well within the margin of error. 

Tune in Sunday to see what our latest poll shows.

Undecided voters, set in their views of Trump, now weigh backing Harris

By Bridget Bowman, Emma Barnett, Alex Tabet and Katherine Koretski

Speaking of our previous poll, we went back and got in touch with respondents who were among the 8% who said they weren’t sure how they’d vote in what was at the time a hypothetical matchup between Trump and Harris.

Of the 21 voters we spoke with, the largest group included nine voters who said they are still undecided but that they are concerned about Trump and are leaning toward picking Harris. Four more are definitely supporting Harris, while one is backing Trump, and three are leaning toward him. Four aren’t planning to vote.

The voters, who come from different backgrounds and corners of the country, are bound by skepticism of politics and politicians. While some of them are still unsure about Harris, many are set in their views of Trump in his third national campaign, with several adamant that whatever they do, they won’t be voting for him. 

“I need to do more research on her before anything,” said 38-year-old Kenneth Hauck, a software tester from San Diego, noting that he recently watched a YouTube video on Harris’ and Trump’s policies and that Harris’ housing plan piqued his interest. Hauck said Harris’ policies “seem good.” But, he added, “the devil is in the details.” 

Norna, 19, a fast-food restaurant worker in Florida who declined to share her last name, said she is particularly interested in Harris’ stances on “police brutality,” support for the Palestinians and economic policies.

“From what I’ve seen so far, I’m not voting for Trump, for sure,” she said.

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That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at [email protected]

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