There’s a type of person who thrives off of angering people online. They are commonly referred to as a “troll,” someone who likes being provocative to get a rise out of netizens who come across the post.

Donald Trump proved in 2016 that being a troll can win you an election and is currently proving it can get you a second nomination.

In North Carolina, my home state, there are two trolls on the ballot this year. Trump, who you've heard of, and another that hopes to one day be just as famous.

There has been a lot of recent coverage of North Carolina Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. Earlier this week, the Washington Post wrote about Robinson’s Facebook posts defending abusers like Harvey Weinstein.

“Harvey Weinstein and the rest of these high-profile Hollywood elites were merely sacrificial lambs,” Robinson said in a 2017 Facebook post, when dozens of women came forward to share their stories of Weinstein's sexual abuse. “They have been slaughtered in order to smear the airwaves with talk of ‘sexual harassment’ and how pervasive the culture of ‘toxic masculinity’ is in America.”

I’ve been following Robinson’s rise for years. It isn’t the first time the gubernatorial candidate has made headlines for the outlandish things he says. It also doesn't seem to be affecting his political career.

In 2021, he caught statewide attention for referring to gay and transgender people as “filth.” A year later, he faced scrutiny for a 2012 Facebook comment where he admitted to........

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