'Today's your lucky day': CNN conservative put on the spot over Mark Robinson scandal
CNN's Scott Jennings drew the unenviable assignment of providing a conservative defense of embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, after reports emerged about shocking comments he made years ago on a smutty online forum.
The Donald Trump-endorsed Republican candidate flatly denied the comments, including an anecdote about spying on a women's locker room and stating "I'm a black NAZI," as well as extremely graphic comments about his sexual activities and pornographic preferences, and Jennings was put on the spot about how the latest controversy would affect the presidential race in the crucial swing state.
"Scott, it's your lucky day look," said host Kasie Hunt. "Look, it's unlikely that Mark Robinson would be in this position if it weren't for Donald Trump, who endorsed him. [Sen.] Thom Tillis backed a different candidate in the North Carolina primary and now you have a situation where this stuff has come out. Republicans are already basically writing off this race."
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Trump and Harris are neck-and-neck in North Carolina, but Jennings disputed that Robinson's scandals would drag the GOP nominee down in November.
"North Carolina is extremely close," Jennings said. "I think it was unlikely Robinson was going to win in the first place. He was already behind. Obviously, this doesn't help and I don't want overstate it, but I think Republicans are already kind of internalized this was a very steep battle. The Trump people feel very good about their operation in North Carolina. I find it unlikely that this will flow uphill. Normally in politics that flows downhill, I don't think it will flow uphill on Trump."
He disputed that Trump's endorsement of the misogynist conspiracy theorist and Holocaust denier would be in itself a problem for the former president.
"Trump endorses a lot of Republicans," Jennings said, but Hunt pointed to the video clips producers had just aired showing Trump praise Robinson as “Martin Luther King on steroids." He's made hundreds of speeches about Republicans – he does not own all of their oppo files anymore than Harris owns every Democratic oppo file out there."
"All I can tell you is that Donald Trump, I assume, will do what's best for Donald Trump," Jennings added, "and I would be surprised if he continues to drag him around North Carolina."
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