Mark who? Donald Trump doesn't mention Robinson's name during North Carolina rally

WASHINGTON ? Former President Donald Trump had a special message Saturday for North Carolina voters about embattled gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.

Never heard of the guy.

Trump did not mention Robinson ? his party's nominee for governor of a key state ? before or during an airport rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, two days after a bombshell news report about Robinson's online habits threatened Trump's chances in a key battleground.

"This is a very important state," Trump told North Carolina supporters at the rally that Robinson did not attend. "We win this state, I think it's going to be over fast."

CNN reported Thursday that Robinson, currently the state's lieutenant governor, " made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery."

Robinson denies being the author of the posts cited by CNN.

Since the news broke, supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris have worked overtime to link Trump to Robinson, hoping to flip a state that went for Trump ? narrowly ? in the two previous presidential elections.

To mark the rally in Wilmington, the Harris campaign sent out a state-of-the-race memo saying that "Donald Trump’s and Mark Robinson’s fates in North Carolina are tied together." It noted that both candidates oppose abortion rights, seek to repeal the current health care law and downgrade the Department of Education.

The memo also listed all the nice things Trump has said about Robinson over the years, from a March comment that the North Carolina candidate is "Martin Luther King on steroids" to a December contention that Robinson is “going to go down as one of the great leaders in our country."

Democrats have also spotlighted a past Robinson comment that "slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few."

Trump has not commented on Robinson since the story broke, including whether or not he should drop out of the North Carolina governor's race.

During the rally in Wilmington, Trump introduced a number of North Carolina Republicans, but Robinson wasn't there.

Trump also spent time on his new campaign theme: An appeal to women voters.

As Harris enjoys huge poll leads with women, Trump argued that they are worse off economically and less safe than when he was president. Trump argued that women will be better off with states deciding abortion policies, although some states want to ban the procedure.

"I will fix all of that, women," Trump said at one point. "I will fix all of that."

Just before the rally, Trump did make a special announcement on his Truth Social website: "We are introducing the launch of our Official Trump Coins! The ONLY OFFICIAL coin designed by me—and proudly minted here in the U.S.A."

Shortly after the CNN report aired Thursday, the Trump campaign issued a statement of a appreciation for North Carolina voters ? but did not mention Robinson's name .

"President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country," the statement said. "North Carolina is a vital part of that plan."

The statement ended by saying: "We will not take our eye off the ball."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump avoids Mark Robinson issue during rally in North Carolina