Trump’s love for Laura Loomer is disqualifying
Trump’s love for Laura Loomer is disqualifying
She's beyond the pale even by MAGA standards.
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Last week was one of the worst so far for Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump’s bad week began Tuesday, when Vice President Harris made him look ridiculous and pathetic in their presidential debate. She was widely acknowledged as the winner even by conservatives, and her success was reflected in a post-debate polling bump. Trump, meanwhile, was widely mocked and ridiculed for spreading a racist hoax to fear-monger about Haitian migrants.
Trump hoped to change the narrative with a series of appearances that were supposed to focus on the economy and border security. But instead, he mostly made headlines for trying to explain his close relationship with 31-year-old far-right failed congressional candidate, conspiracy theorist, and white nationalist Laura Loomer.
Trump, of course, spends time with vicious bigots all the time, including when he’s hanging out by himself. Even by MAGA standards, though, Loomer is a disturbing and disgusting specimen — so much so that even Republican leaders and Trump loyalists have publicly urged the former president to distance himself from her.
Loomer’s constant and still unexplained presence by Trump’s side underlines his fascism, his poor judgement, and his manifest unfitness for office. The thought of a Trump presidency is terrifying for many reasons. But no one prepared to listen to advice from Laura Loomer should be elected to a water reclamation district board, much less to the presidency of the United States.
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Who is Laura Loomer?
Loomer, who is Jewish and grew up in Arizona, got her start in far right circles in around the same time that Trump was first running for president. She worked as an agitator for right-wing grievance mills like Project Veritas and Infowars. Among her stunt sting operations, she tried to bait Barry University officials into supposedly approving a club supporting ISIS (these antics got her suspended from school) and tried to get Clinton campaign officials on camera receiving improper donations.
This kind of hard-hitting trolling resulted in Loomer growing a social media following among the far right ghoulosphere and using her platform to spread vile conspiracy theories.
She has repeatedly claimed (with no evidence, obviously) that school shootings were staged by the left as false flag operations. Earlier this year she claimed that the deep state had used weather manipulation technology to cause a snowstorm during the Iowa caucus intended to benefit candidate Nikki Haley at the expense of Trump. (It’s probably not necessary to point out that this is untrue.) She also pushed the gross and false theory that Ron DeSantis’s wife, Casey DeSantis, was exaggerating her breast cancer diagnosis for political gain.
Loomer is not just a conspiracy theorist; she is a disgusting and vehement bigot. She’s called all Muslims “savages,” insisted there should be a permanent ban on Muslim immigration, and declared herself a “#ProudIslamophobe.” She’s described herself as “pro-white nationalism” and says she supports a white ethnostate. She’s also argued that Trump should execute Democrats who have opposed him.
Loomer’s constant hate and lies have gotten her banned on numerous platforms, including PayPal, Facebook, Instagram, and twitter (though Musk of course restored her account).
That’s a shameful resume by any pretty much any standard. And Loomer has tried to parlay her notoriety into actual political power. In 2020, she ran for a House seat in Florida’s 21st congressional district, which includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Trump endorsed her, but she lost badly. In 2022, she ran in Florida’s 11th district, but was defeated in the primary. Inevitably, she refused to concede and urged GOP voters not to support her victorious opponent, Daniel Webster.
Trump likes having Loomer around
This year, Loomer did not run for Congress. Instead, she’s spent the campaign cycle attached at the hip to Donald Trump.
Trump seems to have first become close with Loomer in early 2023. In April of that year, he tried to hire her as a campaign advisor; staff pushed back and managed to keep her from getting an official role and salary. Trump praised her in a video of her visit to his golf course, however, calling her “terrific” and “very special” and adding, “You are a very opinionated lady, I have to tell you. And in my opinion, I like that.” (Again, Loomer’s opinions include support for a white ethnostate.) Trump’s also praised Loomer at rallies, calling her “a very important person, politically” and “a woman with courage.” He’s shared posts by Loomer on his far right social network Truth Social.
Trump appears to have gotten even closer to Loomer in recent months. In a CNN interview, she said that she rushed to his side after the assassination attempt on his life in July, and accompanied him to the Republican National Convention.
“He wanted me on the plane with him the day after he almost got assassinated. I was with him. I flew with him to the (RNC), so it could show that I’m a trustworthy person, I have his back,” Loomer said.
Loomer also flew to Philadelphia with Trump before the debate. The next day she attended a 9/11 ceremony with him, despite the fact that she’s recently spread 9/11 conspiracy theories, calling the terrorist attack “an inside job.” (It was not an inside job.)
Trump’s closeness with Loomer combined with the fact that Trump’s wife Melania is hardly ever seen with him has led to speculation they might be dating. Comedian Bill Maher joked over the weekend that the two were in an “arranged relationship,” promoting a vehement denial from Loomer.
“It’s a full blown LIE,” she tweeted, “and incredibly disrespectful to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.” (By contrast, Trump’s comments about Loomer have been non-denials.)
Loomer splits Republicans
Whatever the exact nature of the tie between Trump and Loomer, though, it’s clear that she has access to him. And that has made Republicans very nervous.
Loomer demonstrated last week that Republican fears were justified. On social media, she posted that if Harris wins the presidency, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand.”
Loomer’s comments were so egregiously racist that even MAGA recoiled — or, alternately, they were an excuse for some in the GOP to try to pry her away from the former president. Either way, numerous Republican leaders denounced her. Extreme MAGA loon and Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene (she of the “Jewish space lasers”) killed irony by calling Loomer “appalling and extremely racist.” Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis also denounced Loomer’s remarks, as did Trump’s running mate JD Vance.
Trump himself made some halting and exceedingly awkward efforts to distance himself from Loomer while taking questions from the press during a news conference last Friday at his golf club in Los Angeles. As is typical when Trump is asked to respond to ugly comments from allies, he claimed not to have seen them, saying, “Well, I have to see what those remarks are. I don't even know what you're talking about.”
In this case, however, Trump also made it clear that he sees Loomer as a valuable asset and a personal friend.
“Laura’s been a supporter of mine, just like a lot of people are supporters, and she’s been a supporter of mine … I don’t control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She’s a free spirit.” (Watch below.)
Why Loomer matters
Obviously, it’s embarrassing for Trump that he has chosen Loomer, white nationalist free spirit, as his personal muse and emotional support Nazi. But how much difference does it really make? After all, Trump is a vicious bigot and conspiracy theorist himself.
Trump, for example, spent last week pushing disgusting smears about Haitian immigrant communities in Springfield, Ohio. He claimed that they were stealing and eating pets, exclaiming at the debate that “they’re eating the dogs!”
As a result of these shameless lies from Trump and Vance, Haitians in Ohio have received bomb threats and and have been targeted for vandalism. A school was forced to close down; students are being kept home.
Loomer has pushed these conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants herself, but they are prevalent in the MAGA-sphere. Trump hardly needs Loomer to encourage him to spread hateful lies about marginalized people. He has spent years doing that himself without her help.
Nonetheless, having someone as hateful as Loomer so close to Trump is disturbing and dangerous. Trump is notoriously easy to influence. He has no knowledge of and very little interest in policy and a bottomless need for flattery. As a result, as many analysts have pointed out, he tends to adopt the opinions of whoever spoke to him last. This was in fact the key dynamic in his choice of a running mate; Trump was leaning toward Doug Burgum, but Trump’s large adult sons have access to their dad and convinced him right before the announcement to choose Vance. (It’s not working out well for him so far.)
As Trump and his inner circle keep insisting, Loomer has no official role with the campaign. But as Greene, Graham, Tillis, and everyone else is aware, in Trump circles, one’s official role is less important than one’s ability to get close to Trump and flatter him.
Loomer appears to have unencumbered access and to be the person who Trump turns to for emergency flattery and puffery and emotional support, whether following assassination attempts or before big debates. The person Trump wants to be close to, the person he trusts, is a white nationalist conspiracy theorist with less self control, less discipline, and more enthusiasm for hate than even Trump himself, if such a thing is possible.
That Trump has allowed such a toxic figure to get into his inner circle is another sign that he is manifestly unfit to be president. The fact that she is poised to become one of the most powerful people in the country has disturbed even Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lindsey Graham.
In short, Laura Loomer should be allowed nowhere near the White House. And neither should Donald Trump.
That’s it for today
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January 6th was disqualifying. Everything else is a sideshow.
Excellent piece. However, I keep wondering why Loomer is considered by Republicans to be a liability for Trump and why they're freaking out. From what I see she has said nothing more hateful than most Republicans in the public eye, including Trump and the people around him like Stephen Miller, routinely say. Considering the only thing Republicans have to offer are hate and fear, I see Loomer's behavior as business as usual. I really don't understand. You did a great job, Noah, but IMHO she's not beyond the pale and I realize that most of the people I respect in the media (very small group) have echoed that sentiment.