Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called on Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, to “sue the hell out of CNN” after the outlet reported on comments he wrote on a pornographic website.
During a Sunday interview on Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker asked Graham if Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should withdraw his endorsement of Robinson.
“He deserves a chance to defend himself, Mark Robinson,” Graham dodged. “The charges are beyond unnerving. If they’re true, he’s unfit to serve for office. If they’re not true, he has the best lawsuit in the history of the country for libel. He’s claiming they were artificially created and that CNN passed it along to be true.”
“Well, so what I would do if I were him? I would hire the best lawyer I could find,” he continued. “I’d sue the hell out of CNN because what they’re saying about him is just unbelievable.”
Graham argued that Trump could win North Carolina even if Robinson lost his race for governor.
Welker pushed back by noting that Robinson “has not produced one shred of evidence” to defend himself.
“At the very least, should former President Trump pull his endorsement or make it clear that he’s distancing himself?” Welker asked again.
However, Graham dodged the question while calling Robinson a “political zombie.”
“There’s nothing, no accusation involving Trump,” the senator insisted. “It’s all about Robinson.”
“Should every Republican in the country be held responsible for this guy?” he complained. “It’s him, not me. It’s not Trump. He’s the one that supposedly said these things. He has a right to defend himself.”
