A report from CNN has revealed Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s “long history of remarks viciously mocking” and “bitterly scorn[ing]” teenage survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, including launching personal attacks “mocking their appearance and intelligence.” CNN also found posts that show Robinson “defending the shooting of students at Kent State protesting the Vietnam War in May 1970.” 

The “unearthed Facebook rants” have sparked a flurry of damaging coverage highlighting his “ugly record” and a statement from the White House calling Robinson’s comments “undignified and grotesque.” Despite widespread backlash for his cruel and heartless comments, he refused to apologize in a campaign statement Saturday. 

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CNN: GOP frontrunner for NC governor mocked school shooting survivors and once justified shooting protesters

• North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the current Republican favorite to be the party’s nominee for governor in 2024, has a long history of remarks viciously mocking and attacking teenage survivors of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, for their advocacy for gun control measures.
• In posts after the shooting, Robinson called the students “spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN,” “spoiled little bastards,” and “media prosti-tots.
• In one post on Facebook, Robinson shared a photo of several students posing for photos, with the caption, “the look you get when you let the devil give you a ride on a river of blood to ’15 minutes of Fameville.’”
• In another comment on Twitter in April of 2018, Robinson shared several crying laughing emojis in response to a post that blasted conservatives who mocked the survivors, writing that when children “got sassy,” adults needed to make sure the “CHILDREN knew their place.”
• Robinson did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

WCNC: ‘Spoiled little bastards’: NC GOP leader mocked school shooting survivors

• Newly surfaced Facebook posts show North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson criticizing student protesters after the Parkland school shooting in 2018. 
• CNN uncovered posts the Republican gubernatorial candidate made on Facebook after the shooting, which killed 17 and injured 17 more people. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was sentenced to life in prison without parole last November. 
• Robinson called survivors of the shooting, “spoiled, angry and know it all CHILDREN.” 
• WCNC Charlotte has reached out to Robinson’s office about the comments. So far, those requests have not been answered. 

Maddow Blog: ​​Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 5.5.23

• And in North Carolina, where Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial candidacy is advancing, the right-wing lieutenant governor’s ugly record continues to generate headlines. CNN reported yesterday on Robinson repeatedly mocking the survivors of the 2018 Parkland mass shooting — he called the teenagers, among other things, “spoiled little bastards” — while Media Matters uncovered comments in which Robinson claimed Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby were victims of a left-wing “plot.”

News & Observer: White House calls Lt. Gov. Robinson’s comments on shooting survivors ‘grotesque’

• With North Carolina’s 2024 governor’s race already begun, the White House has responded to the latest controversial comments unearthed from Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican frontrunner for governor, calling them “undignified and grotesque.”
• “Gun crime is now the leading killer of American children,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told McClatchy in a statement Friday. “There’s a deep urgency for leaders in both parties to take a stand against this horrifying violence with common sense steps to keep weapons of war off our streets and out of our schools.” “Not only do these backward views side with the profits of the gun lobby over children’s lives; but they mock survivors of school shootings and families who have endured the worst pain imaginable. Lt. Governor Robinson’s statements are undignified and grotesque,” Bates said.

Huffington Post: North Carolina Lt Gov Trashed ‘Spoiled’ School Shooting Survivors

• North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a front-running Republican candidate for governor, bitterly scorned “spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN” who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and became advocates for gun control.
• Robinson, who former President Donald Trump referred to as “one of the hottest politicians in our country,” mocked Parkland students and activists, including David Hogg and X González, less than two weeks after the massacre, unearthed social media posts reported by CNN’s “KFile” show.

The Hill: Leading GOP candidate for governor in NC mocked school shooting survivors

• A new report from CNN’s KFile chronicles several social media posts from Robinson in which he attacked the teenage survivors of the Parkland shooting, where 17 people were killed by a gunman.
• In one Facebook post dated just two weeks after the shooting, Robinson called the students protesting “spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN” who “are trying to tell law abiding ADULTS that we must give up our Constitutional RIGHT to own certain weapons.”

People Magazine: North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mocked School Shooting Survivors in Unearthed Facebook Rants

• North Carolina Republican Mark Robinson — the state’s lieutenant governor and a contender for governor in 2024 — once called school shooting survivors “spoiled little b—–ds” and justified the shooting of protestors, according to old social media posts and a 2018 podcast unearthed by CNN’s KFile.
• Robinson also mocked young gun control activists on Twitter, sharing one photo of a protestor at the “March for Our Lives” rally with the caption: “They live. They breathe. They’ll procreate. #funnybutscary.”
• CNN also reported on a 2018 podcast in which Robinson spoke about protestors, saying in reference to the 1970 shooting of students at Kent State protesting the Vietnam War, “We need some politicians in office in some of these cities that’s gonna let people know from the get-go, you go in the street and block traffic, if you block buildings, if you destroy property, you are going to be dealt with swiftly and harshly. We are not going to tolerate it.