RALEIGH, N.C. — Political tensions played out in the public eye Thursday over what was supposed to be a so-called "North Carolina Solidarity With Israel Week" declaration following the start of the Israel-Hamas War.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican, invited reporters to a "special event" Thursday that offered little details or explanation ahead of the event. Robinson, who by state law is the "acting governor" while Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is in Japan, noted the event would be within his authority as "acting governor of North Carolina." Unlike previous times Robinson held the role as acting governor, this was the first time he held a media event using the title, according to the News & Observer, a newspaper in Raleigh.
During the event, Robinson proclaimed "North Carolina Solidarity With Israel Week." Robinson used the event to downplay past remarks he had made about the Jewish people.
"There have been some Facebook posts that were poorly worded on my part," he said. "There is no antisemitism standing here in front of you."
Robinson's proclamation says, "The people of North Carolina offer our hearts and our prayers to the people of Israel."
The Israel-Hamas War — which was ignited by a bloody and wide-ranging assault on Israel by Hamas militants — has already claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides.
Cooper, whose public schedule says he is "leading the North Carolina delegation to the Southeast United States/Japan Economic Development Conference in Tokyo," was unhappy about Robinson's event back at home.
"It's tragically ironic that someone with a love history of hate speech against Jewish people would take advantage of death and destruction in Israel for his own political purposes," Sadie Weiner, a spokesperson for Cooper, posted to the governor's social media account Thursday.
North Carolina is among nearly half the states in the U.S. where the governor and lieutenant governor run on separate tickets. As is the case with Cooper and Robinson, their differing political views create reoccurring opposition within the executive branch of the state government.
Cooper, who cannot seek reelection because of term limits, has endorsed fellow Democrat Josh Stein, the state's current attorney general, for governor in 2024.
State law requires the lieutenant governor to serve as acting governor whenever the governor is absent.
Cooper filed a lawsuit Tuesday after the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature overturned five more of his vetoes. The overrides further limited the powers of the governor by eliminating his authority to appoint members to several state boards and commissions, including the Board of Transportation and Commission for Public Health.
“This law is a blatantly unconstitutional legislative power grab,” Cooper said in a news release. "The efforts of Republican legislators to destroy the checks and balances in our constitution are bad for people and bad for our democracy.”
Former Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, said recent moves may come back to haunt his Republican colleagues in the future.
“I don’t agree with these efforts to strip more power away from the governor," he said during an appearance on WCNC Charlotte's Flashpoint. "One day Republicans will regret that when a new Republican gets in the governor’s office. I believe in the separation of powers in the authority of the executive branch to do the day-to-day operations of a government at the federal level in the state level."