Mr. Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, vowed to stay in the race and sought to deny the report, which also said he had defended slavery in online posts years ago.

Robinson, 56, is a former furniture manufacturer who was elected to be the state's first black lieutenant governor in 2020. He won the nomination to run for governor in March after receiving an endorsement from Trump, who called him "Martin Luther King on steroids".

He called himself a “Black Nazi,” supported reviving slavery, and bashed Martin Luther King Jr., all on an old porn website where he used to write.