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Mark Robinson, the reeling Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, is the latest offender.

“Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,� Robinson said.

He referenced an investigative piece by CNN accusing of Robinson of making wild comments on a pornography website more than a decade ago. CNN staff members said they traced postings to Robinson calling himself a “black NAZI� and endorsing the reinstatement of slavery.

If Robinson drags down Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in a swing state, I anticipate another pleading in the third person. It might be something like this: “Mark Robinson didn’t cause the defeat of Donald Trump in North Carolina,� Robinson said. “Mark Robinson knows a high-tech lynching when CNN puts the noose around Mark’s neck.�

While feeling intense pressure, Robinson might have copied the former president’s speaking style.

“Nobody respects women more than Donald Trump,� Trump once said, a line that threatened to set ablaze his extra-wide pants.

Trump’s practice of referring to himself in the third person sometimes merges with his claims of persecution. “Andrew Jackson, they say, was the worst of all, that he was treated worse than any other president. And I said, ‘Do that study again,’ because I think there’s nobody close to Trump,� Trump said.

Another of Trump’s political allies oozed false optimism in the third person.

“Under Mastriano critical race theory will be done on Day One,� said Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022. He spent inauguration day watching Democrat Josh Shapiro take office as governor.

Kamala Harris also has slipped into the third-person trap. A notable example occurred after her election as vice president and presiding officer of the Senate.

“The chair lays before the Senate ... a certificate of appointment to fill the vacancy of former senator Kamala D. Harris of California,� Harris said. At least she laughed and made a self-aware follow-up comment: “Yeah, that was very weird.�

This rotten rhetorical habit didn’t begin with politicians of the 21st century. It began before Harris was born.

Richard Nixon claimed he was finished with politics after he lost California’s 1962 gubernatorial election to Pat Brown. “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference,� Nixon said.

His oratory, if not his honesty, improved 11 years later when he gave another speech. “I am not a crook,� said the president who ran a criminal enterprise from the White House.

Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas emulated the earlier version of Nixon by showing disdain for pronouns. After a poor performance in the New Hampshire primary, Dole said: “You’re going to see the real Bob Dole out there from now on.�

Real or unreal, Dole went on to lose the 1996 presidential election by a landslide to Bill Clinton.

Politicians, winners and losers alike, have influenced at least a couple generations of athletes in third-person prattle.

Bo Jackson was so talented he excelled as an NFL running back and a major-league outfielder. Seldom did he use his given first name of Vincent. But he flung his nickname into countless interviews.

“The public in general, they don’t know Bo,� Jackson said. “People will always be jealous of Bo.� And there was the unforgettable, “Bo’s gotta do what Bo’s gotta do.�

A famous but lesser-known Bo followed Jackson’s approach. Big-league outfielder Bobby Bonilla alternated between talking about “Bobby Bo� and “Bobby Bonilla.� He seemed to have a preference, though.

Asked about being booed after making two errors in a game, Bonilla said: “You’re talking to Bobby Bo. It’s not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last.�

No doubt this season, whether it centers on baseball, football or politics, isn’t the last of the third-person assaults on our mother tongue.