Mark Robinson attends meet-and-greet in Fayetteville in midst of firestorm

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson showed up to a meet-and-greet in Fayetteville on Saturday evening in what’s believed to be his first public appearance following a report accusing him of making sexually explicit and racially charged comments online.

Robinson is speaking at a campaign event at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, which began at 6 p.m. This event is part of the Carlton Lamm “Big C” Memorial Race.

Robinson, the Republican nominee in the governor’s race against Josh Stein, trails Stein by 14 percentage points in a recent WRAL News poll.

Robinson finds himself embroiled in controversy again with Election Day just 45 days away. The 56-year-old was connected to a series of inflammatory comments on pornography website Nude Africa’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “Black Nazi” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, CNN reports.

Some Republicans have called on Robinson to do more to prove the comments were not his or risk hurting efforts by former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, to return to the White House. Trump is scheduled to speak on Saturday afternoon in Wilmington. Robinson, whom Trump has voiced support for in the past, will not be part of that rally. Trump endorsed Robinson, calling him “better” than Martin Luther King, Jr. in December.