WATCH LIVE: Trump speaks at rally in battleground state North Carolina

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump returns to North Carolina on Saturday, campaigning in a key Southern state that both Democrats and Republicans see as increasingly crucial to winning in November.

Trump is expected to deliver his speech at 2:00 PM ET. Watch his remarks in the player above.

But Trump will campaign in Wilmington, along the state’s southern coast, without Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the GOP candidate for governor and one of the former president’s top surrogates in the state, following CNN’s reporting on his alleged postings on a pornography website’s message board. Two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Friday that Robinson was not scheduled for the Wilmington event.

READ MORE: Mark Robinson won’t attend Trump rally after reports of online posts, sources tell AP

Robinson has denied that he wrote the posts, which include lewd and racist comments, saying Thursday that he would not be forced out of the race by “the tabloids’ salacious lies.” The Trump campaign appeared to be distancing itself from Robinson in the wake of the CNN report, which the AP has not independently verified, saying in a statement to the AP that Trump is “focused on winning the White House and saving this country” and calling North Carolina “a vital part of that plan,” without mentioning Robinson.

Although Robinson won the GOP gubernatorial primary in March, he has trailed Democratic candidate Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, in several recent polls. Republican state officials have sided with Robinson, whose decision to continue campaigning could jeopardize the GOP’s prospects in other key races, including Trump’s bid in a state he has previously won twice.

Democrats have seized the opportunity to highlight Trump’s ties to Robinson, with billboards showing them together, as well as a new ad from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign highlighting the Republican candidates’ ties, as well as Robinson’s support for a statewide abortion ban without exception. The Harris campaign says it’s the first ad they’ve linked Trump to a junior race.

Trump’s first outdoor rally since his second assassination attempt took place at the Wilmington airport, where a large American flag hung from a crane, with hundreds of chairs and standing room for many spectators. Bulletproof glass surrounded the area on the stage where Trump was to speak, a new security measure for outdoor venues introduced by the Secret Service after a bullet grazed Trump’s ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Charlie Kimball, a 46-year-old former construction worker from Burgaw who said he is now on disability benefits, dismissed the accusations against Robinson as “fake news.”

“It’s his personal life. Who cares?” Kimball said. “It’s all rumor. … It’s not true. It’s all speculation. Where’s the proof?”

The Republican has won North Carolina in every general election since 1976 except once, when Barack Obama won the state in 2008. Trump won there in both of his previous campaigns, but by less than 1.5 percentage points over Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, the narrowest margin of any state Trump has won. That’s partly why Democrats believe the state is winnable this fall.

With no Senate seats up for grabs, the gubernatorial race has become a major low-profile race in North Carolina this year. Robinson has become Trump’s natural primary surrogate in the state and has appeared frequently at campaign events, appearing with the candidate as recently as last month in Asheboro. Trump has long praised Robinson, who is black, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

Endorsing Robinson ahead of the GOP gubernatorial primary, Trump continued: “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you’re Martin Luther King times two.”

While the presidential candidates have made more frequent visits to the Rust Belt battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, both Harris and Trump have made multiple trips to North Carolina, emphasizing the state’s importance. After Biden dropped out of the race in July, Trump held his first major rally there, focusing his full attention on Harris.

Wilmington is home to New Hanover County, which Biden won in 2020. But his margin over Trump in the county was one of the narrowest in the state.

Julia Novotny, 55, of Wilmington, said she began supporting Trump after initial doubts sparked by accusations that he sexually harassed women, which he denies.

“He’s classy, ​​he’s a gentleman, he looks good in a suit and he has strong values,” Novotny said. “Everybody makes mistakes, I don’t know if he made them or not, but you know what? Leave him alone. He’s a good man. He wants to change this country. Our country is in the mud, and the only person who’s pulling us out of it is Donald Trump.”