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‘Cowardly’: NY Times Pummeled for Ignoring NC GOP Nominee’s Hitler and Holocaust Remarks
Mark Robinson is a “political firebrand” and a “fiery outsider eager to dive into the culture war,” according to a New York Times profile published just hours after the Republican North Carolina Lt. Governor won the GOP nomination to become the Tar Heel State’s next governor. The Times neglects to mention Robinson’s remarks on Hitler and the Holocaust, creating even more outrage online for the paper of record.
“Mr. Robinson, 55, is now poised to face his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Stein of North Carolina, in the general election in November. Both men would break ground if elected: Mr. Robinson would be the first Black governor, while Mr. Stein, 57, would be the first Jewish governor,” The Times’ Eduardo Medina reported in his profile serving up “five things to know about Mr. Robinson.”
They are, according to The Times: “His political career was fueled by online support,” “He made history as the first Black lieutenant governor of North Carolina,” “His upbringing was difficult,” “His wife had an abortion decades ago, and it has shaped his views on the issue,” and, at the bottom of the list, “He has long held anti-L.G.B.T.Q. views.”
But as many on social media rushed to note, there are more than five important things to know about the Trump-endorsed Mark Robinson.
NCRM and others, especially Right Wing Watch, have reported on Lt. Governor Robinson’s political positions and remarks, remarks The Times glosses over but acknowledges as “incendiary comments on social issues, which have mobilized his Trump-aligned base and repulsed Democrats.”
Right Wing Watch, which has extensively chronicled Robinson’s career, reported on his campaign launch for governor last April, calling him “an unabashed Christian nationalist and virulent anti-LGBTQ bigot.” They add, “in 2021, Robinson asserted that ‘this will always be a Christian nation’ and told those who disagree, ‘If you don’t like it, I’ll buy your plane, train, or automobile ticket right up out of here.'”
And while The Times notes Robinson “told a congregation that ‘there’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth,'” it ignored the vast majority of his hate-filled anti-LGBTQ comments and his remarks regarding Hitler and the Holocaust.
In 2021, Robinson attacked same-sex relationships as inferior to heterosexual ones, while proudly declaring even cow manure is superior because it serves a “purpose.”
“I can’t stand to turn that TV on and I don’t want my grandkids watching that television because I don’t want to have to explain to my grandkids why two men are kissing,” said Robinson, speaking in a church, according to Right Wing Watch. “And I don’t care what anybody thinks about that. Get mad at me if you want to you. Ain’t no child got no business seeing no two men kiss. If they did, God would have made it that way! He didn’t!”
“In this country,” he continued, “we don’t have a homosexual issue—that’s just a tool of the devil to continue to divide us and lead us into immorality.”
Robinson also says the U.S. Constitution – specifically, the First Amendment – both allows him to spread his anti-LGBTQ hate and be protected from being criticized for it.
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“Because I’m a Christian,” Robinson said in 2021, “because I believe that homosexuality is a sin and adultery is a sin and fornication is a sin—but chiefly because I believe homosexuality is a sin—these people want to call me names and push me out of the public square. That is not how this country was designed to work.”
But it’s Robinson’s promotion of Hitler’s remarks and his alleged Holocaust denialism that are drawing great rebuke and repudiation online, after he clinched the gubernatorial nomination Tuesday.
In a 2014 Facebook post Robinson directly quoted Hitler (NCRM will not republish the quote but there is a screenshot below.)
Jewish Insider last year reported Robinson has “minimized Nazi atrocities and advanced conspiracy theories about Hollywood and the media using Yiddish ethnic slurs.” In a separate post, the news outlet reported that Robinson “found his efforts to declare solidarity with Israel backfiring — by drawing renewed scrutiny to his long history of invoking antisemitic conspiracy theories and casting doubt on the Holocaust.”
News outlets have pointed to this 2018 Facebook quote from Robinson, in which he call the Holocaust “hogwash.” It reads in part: “This foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash.”
Mehdi Hasan, the former MSNBC host who now writes at his media startup Zeteo News, adds: “The Holocaust-as-hogwash GOP candidate has also posted quotes from Hitler, encouraged conservatives to start re-reading the words of Hitler, and spread a number of bizarre antisemitic conspiracies, from claiming that the Marvel movie ‘Black Panther’ was ‘created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic Marxists’ that was ‘only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets’ (Schvartze being a Yiddish slur for Black people), to accusing Jewish billionaire George Soros of somewhat orchestrating Boko Haram’s kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in 2014.”
Talking Points Memo‘s Hunter Walker last year took a deep dive into Robinson’s social media history, publishing perhaps the largest single compendium of his posts, and unearthing one where he “seemed to veer into Holocaust denial.”
“There is a REASON the liberal media fills the airwaves with programs about the NAZI and the ‘6 million Jews’ they murdered,” wrote Robinson, as Walker reported. “There is also a REASON those same liberals DO NOT FILL the airwaves with programs about the Communist and the 100+ million PEOPLE they murdered throughout the 20th century.”
On social media, many expressed concerns and upset with The New York Times’ profile.
“This is not how I’d write about someone who has dabbled in Holocaust denial and made a seemingly nonstop string of deeply disgusting and bigoted comments in his career. What’s with the kid gloves here?” noted Jared Holt, a senior researcher of US hate and extremist movements at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
“You can depend on the New York Times to write soft, cowardly mini-profiles of dangerous radicals, in this case Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee for NC governor. NYT calls him a ‘firebrand’ and a ‘fiery outsider’ but doesn’t mention he’s a Holocaust denier,” observed Mark Jacob, the former Chicago Tribune editor who now writes about politics and the media.
READ MORE: ‘No Balls to Scratch’: Trump Voter’s Candid Confession on Ruling Out Nikki Haley
“The New York Times not mentioning Mark Robinson’s antisemitism & Holocaust denialism in their headline and subheadline. A morally bankrupt & incompetent newspaper,” adds professor of political science David Darmofal.
“This NYT piece on crackpot gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson makes no mention of his antisemitism (not anti-zionism—he’s a staunch supporter of Israel) and Holocaust denial. Holocaust denial is no longer the preserve of outright (or crypto-) nazis,” writer Dave Mandl said.
Writer Dean Gloster adds, “Mark Robinson, the GOP candidate for NC Governor, is a Holocaust denier who calls school shooting survivors ‘prosti-tots,’ says tolerance for gays and lesbians ‘will end civilization’ and calls for arresting trans people, and calls Michelle Obama ‘a man’. So NYT praises him.”
And Philadelphia Inquirer opinion columnist Will Bunch wrote: “There needs to be a New York Times Headline Generator where you could plug in terms like ‘Holocaust denier’ and it spits back phrases like ‘fiery outsider eager to dive into the culture war.'”
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First Lady Melania Trump’s renovation of Jackie Kennedy’s iconic Rose Garden during Donald Trump’s first term drew widespread criticism. Now, President Trump is renovating that space once again—this time transforming it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio—sparking a fresh wave of backlash from critics.
President Trump defended what Newsweek described as “bulldozing” part of the Rose Garden, saying the change was intended to make the space more accessible for women wearing high heels, according to The Daily Beast. The renovations also involve removing several trees, including a saucer magnolia reportedly planted to honor President John F. Kennedy.
“It’s supposed to have events,” Trump said of the Rose Garden. “Every event you have it’s soaking wet,” he complained.
“The women with the high heels, it’s just too much… the grass, it doesn’t work. We use it for press conferences. It doesn’t work.”
READ MORE: Trump Starts Weekend Early After Griping Workers Get Too Many Days Off
The White House has done little to inform the American people about the construction, leaving critics to ask questions including who is paying for the construction, and is there a federal agency or commission that approves changes to the White House, given its centuries-long history.
“The White House is a national symbol and not the personal property of any president. Permanent changes should be reviewed by preservation experts and consider public sentiment, not be made unilaterally for vanity or political messaging,” wrote Molly Ploofkins, a social media user whose bio says she is a retired Army medic.
“We’ve got money to bulldoze the White House Rose Garden and turn it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio, but we can’t pay for cancer research for kids or make sure veterans aren’t living off food stamps,” remarked Democratic strategist and former Harris senior advisor Mike Nellis.
READ MORE: ‘People Will Die’: Shock Over Trump Shutting Down LGBTQ Youth Suicide Hotline Is Growing
“I love how people keep pointing out that private donations paid for it—not the government. I don’t give a s—,” Nellis added later. “The issue is this administration’s priorities. Trump thinks it’s fine to bulldoze the Rose Garden to build a patio so he can relax outside, while doing nothing to improve your life. That’s the criticism. He’s enriching himself, screwing everyone else, and not lifting a goddamn finger to help you. That’s the problem.”
Journalist Jane Coaston remarked, “I am increasingly of the view that Trump wants to ‘be president’ so he can watch musicals and manage the rose garden and he just lets other people be co-president for periods of time so he has more time for musicals and rose garden management.”
“RIP to the White House Rose Garden,” observed former Obama White House photographer Pete Souza. “Today the Rose Garden is being ripped apart as construction begins to pave over the entire grass area. A sad, and unnecessary, day for what used to be the People’s House.”
“The White House rose garden was established in 1913,” noted WAMU’s Esther Ciammachilli, before lamenting, “Trump has just paved paradise and put up a parking lot. This is not his house. It belongs to the American people. He is just a tenant. Nothing is sacred anymore.”
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump, who campaigned in 2020 on making Juneteenth a federal holiday, used the occasion this year to criticize the number of federal holidays—a comment many viewed as a direct slight against Juneteenth, which marks the symbolic end of slavery in the United States. He did not issue a presidential proclamation recognizing the holiday.
It was President Joe Biden who signed the legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. And while he is no longer in office, it was Biden—not Trump—who formally honored and celebrated Juneteenth.
On Thursday, President Biden “took part in the service at the Reedy Chapel AME Church,” in Galveston, “one of the locations where an order announcing the end of slavery in Texas was read on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,” CBS News reported. Biden criticized “ongoing efforts to erase history” during the event, “and appeared to take a shot at his successor, President Trump.”
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President Biden said, “Still today, some say to me and you that this doesn’t deserve to be a federal holiday. They don’t want to remember…the moral stain of slavery.”
“Our federal holidays say … who we are as Americans,” Biden also said Thursday, as CNN reported. “What we celebrate says what we value.”
At least twice, Biden appeared to refer to Trump, although not by name.
“When speaking about attempts to erase history, he referenced ‘this guy’ before giving himself the sign of the cross — drawing laughter from the audience,” CBS noted. “At another point, Biden pointed to efforts during his administration to rename military bases named after Confederate military officers, a process mandated by Congress.”
Also on Juneteenth, President Donald Trump launched an angry missive at the number of federal holidays, although he did not mention Juneteenth specifically.
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“Too many non-working holidays in America,” Trump declared. “It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
While shuttering the federal government while paying workers does cost money, Trump offered no evidence to support his claim that workers don’t want the day off.
Critics berated President Trump.
“Saying there are ‘too many non-working holidays’ on Juneteenth is so on brand for a man who is actively trying to erase Black history,” wrote U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). “This from the same man who’s wasted over $26 million in taxpayer dollars and spent more than 30 days golfing since January 20, 2025? Please.”
“As Americans celebrate Juneteenth,” U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) wrote, “I want to say: Trump can try to erase whatever history he doesn’t like, and he can try to brand ‘diversity’ as something bad. But he won’t succeed. We’ll remember ALL of our history and affirm that diversity is our strength here in America.”
“Not only is he trying to make you work MORE but also he’s taking an apparent dig at Juneteenth. This is coming from the same guy who golfs every weekend. Pathetic,” declared political commentator Harry Sisson.
RELATED: Hegseth Sidelines Juneteenth and Its Military History
Image via Reuters
The Trump administration is once again drawing criticism during LGBTQ Pride Month—this time for defunding the LGBTQ youth-specific branch of the national 988 suicide hotline, which has supported 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people since its launch in 2022.
Known as “988 Press 3 Option,” the LGBTQ crisis line has been operated by The Trevor Project—a nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ youth in crisis—since 1998. As the nation’s first suicide prevention helpline dedicated to LGBTQ youth, it will continue to operate independently, but it is being removed from the federal government’s 988 system.
The “Press 3 Option” support for LGBTQ+ callers “was established in 2022 based on a recognition that gay and transgender people experience distinct mental health issues — often driven by family rejection and societal discrimination — and have disproportionately high suicide rates,” The New York Times reported.
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“On July 17, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will no longer silo LGB+ youth services, also known as the ‘Press 3 option,’ to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option,” read a statement Tuesday from the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
CBS News reports it is “unclear if staff for the specialized option 3 care line will be cut or moved to the general 988 line.”
“This means that, in 30 short days, this program that has provided life-saving services to more than 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people will no longer be available for those who need it,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, in a statement Wednesday. “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”
Black called the decision to announce the shutdown during Pride Month “callous,” and blasted the federal government for removing the “T” in LGBT, writing: “Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased.”
But as The New York Time3s also reported, “the White House Office of Management and Budget has previously described the hotline’s L.G.B.T.Q. section as ‘a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counselors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents.’ That language reflects the Trump administration’s broader efforts to eliminate services for and legal recognition of transgender people.”
Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the un-naming of the USNS Harvey Milk, a U.S. Navy ship named for the assassinated veteran and LGBTQ activist who was the first openly-gay man to be elected to public office in California. The decision to announce the plan during LGBTQ Pride Month reportedly was intentional.
RELATED: Pride Month Purge: Pentagon Chief Defends Renaming USNS Harvey Milk and Trans Ban
Critics are blasting the decision to end federal funding for the LGBTQ+ option for the 988 suicide prevention hotline.
“The ‘pro-life’ party is shutting down suicide hotlines,” wrote podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen.
“When folks are in crisis, this admin chooses cruelty over care—every time. But this is the party of ‘family values,’ right?” observed U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
“The LGBTQ+ community faces so much discrimination, isolation, and violence that makes them over 4x as likely to die by suicide. Trump’s decision to end the federal LGBTQ+ suicide hotline is absolutely devastating and it’s the opposite of ‘pro-life’,” noted U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA).
“The Trump Administration is wholly pro-death,” declared The Atlantic’s Dr. Norman Ornstein, a political scientist. “As they fan the flames of virulent homophobia and trans-hatred, they cut out the LGBT suicide hotline. People will die. For them, it is a feature, not a bug.”
CBS News cited these support options:
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.
READ MORE: Hegseth Sidelines Juneteenth and Its Military History
Image via Reuters
‘Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot’: Critics Fume Over Trump’s Rose Garden Revamp
Trump Starts Weekend Early After Griping Workers Get Too Many Days Off
‘Actively Trying to Erase Black History’: Trump Berated for Juneteenth Remark
‘People Will Die’: Shock Over Trump Shutting Down LGBTQ Youth Suicide Hotline Is Growing
‘Make Asbestos Great Again?’: Trump Slammed for Move to End Ban on Russia-Tied Carcinogen
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