Her racist, sexist, Islamophobic comments have turned off even diehard MAGA conservatives.
If you’ve been keeping up with Donald Trump’s campaign at all, you’ve likely heard of Laura Loomer. The far-right conspiracy theorist has recently become part of the former president’s entourage, accompanying him to the most recent presidential debate and to memorial events for Sept. 11.
“I know she’s a big fan of the campaign,” Trump said, when asked about Loomer and some of her most controversial comments. “I don’t know what she said.”
Well, Loomer’s said quite a lot: She’s referred to the Sept. 11 attacks as an “inside job,” accused Ron DeSantis’ wife of exaggerating the severity of her breast cancer, and established a public profile based largely on the reactions to her attention-grabbing comments.
The 31-year-old’s presence within Trump’s campaign has alarmed liberals and even some conservatives, who believe her proximity to the former president may hurt his chances of winning in November.
So who is the provocateur at the heart of the controversy? Here’s a primer on her outlandish beliefs and connection to Trump.
Laura Loomer’s bio and education
Over the past decade, Loomer has carved out a niche following online for her bizarre publicity stunts and her racist, Islamophobic, and homophobic views. She got her first taste of national attention in 2015, while she was a senior at Barry University in Miami. Loomer secretly filmed herself while trying to convince university officials to create a club for students supporting ISIS. That footage was picked up by Project Veritas, the conservative org known for conducting undercover sting operations on liberal targets.
She’s since gone on to pull other odd stunts and protests. During the 2016 election, for example, she appeared at a polling station dressed in a burqa and asked for a ballot under the name Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s longtime aide. The following year, she crashed a Central Park performance of Julius Caesar, in which the eponymous ruler bore a close resemblance to Trump.
In 2020, Loomer unsuccessfully ran for a congressional seat in Florida and received endorsements from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as well as Trump, who tweeted: “Great going Laura. You have a great chance against a Pelosi puppet.”
She ran for a different congressional seat in 2022, but was defeated in the Republican primary.
What is her relationship to Trump and his campaign? (And is she dating Trump?)
The New York Times reports that Loomer has been to Mar-a-Lago at least nine times since 2021 and was nearly hired by Trump’s campaign last year. According to the Times, Trump’s aides worried that her bigoted views would cause a backlash and ultimately nixed the idea.
Loomer has also flatly denied that she’s romantically involved with the presidential nominee. After Bill Maher suggested Loomer was in an “arranged relationship” with Trump, she responded with a post on X calling his claim “a complete and blatant lie” and threatening to sue for defamation.
What did Laura Loomer say about Kamala Harris?
This month, Loomer tweeted to her 1.3 million followers on X that if Kamala Harris (who’s half Indian American) is elected, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.” While some high-profile GOP names, like vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance, have played coy in response to her remarks, Loomer has gotten criticism for the comments from her own side of the aisle — and that clearly is not sitting well with her, based on posts like this one:
What are conservatives saying about Laura Loomer?
Some prominent Republicans have strongly objected to Loomer’s presence on the campaign trail. On X, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis called her “a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting gargabe intended to divide Republicans.”
Even fringe conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — who’s openly supported the QAnon conspiracy — has said that Loomer’s gone too far. In response to Loomer’s racist comment about Harris, Greene tweeted that “this type of behavior should not be tolerated” and that it “does not represent President Trump.”
