On March 5, 2024 – also known as Super Tuesday in U.S. politics – North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson won the Republican primary for the state's race for governor.
Rumors were shared in the aftermath of Robinson's victory, as often happens in election years when politicians or aspiring politicians are running for office. One of those rumors was even shared by the reelection campaign for U.S. President Joe Biden.
Here's how it went down: On March 6, the @DNCWarRoom account on X – an official rapid response account for the Democratic National Committee – posted (archived), "Mark Robinson, GOP candidate for North Carolina Governor: I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote."
The post from @DNCWarRoom included a brief, 21-second video clip overlaid with text that said it was captured in 2020. At the time, Robinson was running to become lieutenant governor.
Mark Robinson, GOP candidate for North Carolina Governor: I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote pic.twitter.com/Mh99n0goWO
— DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) March 6, 2024
In the brief clip on X, Robinson said, "This idiotic guy was on stage with Candace Owens a few days ago and asked her, 'What America are we going back to to make America great again? The one where women couldn't vote or Black people were swinging from cheap trees?' I would say to him if I was standing in front of him, 'I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote.'" No further context was provided.
The @BidenHQ account on X – a rapid response account for Biden's reelection campaign – then reposted the @DNCWarRoom post.
The truth was that this brief clip of Robinson posted to X was misleading in that it was missing context. His full remarks reveal that he was not against women having the right to vote but rather was making a larger point about the role that he believed Republicans played in the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Hours before the @DNCWarRoom post was posted, HuffPost.com published the headline, "Mark Robinson: 'I Absolutely Want To Go Back To The America Where Women Couldn't Vote.'" The article was accompanied by a post (archived) on X that was reposted by @HuffPost. It came from the story's author – senior politics reporter Jennifer Bendery – and read, "NEW: Newly unearthed video of N.C. GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson in 2020: 'I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote.'"
NEW:
Newly unearthed video of N.C. GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson in 2020: "I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote." https://t.co/dAlCe2DhPL
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) March 6, 2024
Bendery's post included an embed of a link to the article and a subheading beneath the headline that provided some context. The post did not feature the 21-second video that was promoted by the DNC and Biden campaign. As of this writing, Bendery's post had received multiple draft Community Notes from users who attempted to either add context to Robinson's words or to add that no note was needed.
The context regarding Robinson's thoughts was available within the HuffPost.com article, which was also shared without context by other prominent users on X. The article featured a longer, unlisted video from YouTube that showed Robinson making more of his remarks. That longer video included him talking about his Christian beliefs, his support of then-U.S. President Donald Trump and also the context that was not featured by the X accounts for the DNC or Biden campaign. The clip was purportedly recorded on March 1, 2020, at an event hosted by the Republican Women of Pitt County in North Carolina.
Transcribed below are Robinson's extended remarks (bolded) that explain exactly what it was that he was attempting to convey to the gathered crowd:
This idiotic guy was on stage with Candace Owens a few days ago and asked her, 'What America are we going back to to make America great again? The one where women couldn't vote or Black people were swinging from cheap trees?' I would say to him if I was standing in front of him, 'I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote.' Do you know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change and they were called Republicans. And they are the reason why women can vote today.
The remarks begin at the 3:25 mark in the YouTube video (archived page) below:
Snopes reached out to the DNC, the Biden campaign and Bendery for comment regarding this matter. This story will be updated if one or more relevant responses are received.