The New York Times reported in April 2023 that Donald Trump was prepared to add Laura Loomer to his 2024 campaign team. The news was not well received.
For those unfamiliar with Loomer, she’s a right-wing activist, radical conspiracy theorist, and failed Republican congressional candidate who described herself as “pro-white nationalism.” When Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died of cancer in July, Loomer described the Texas Democrat as a “ghetto bitch” while suggesting the late congresswoman should “go to hell.”
As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones noted, “Lately [Loomer] has used her platform to openly make racist and sexist attacks on Kamala Harris.”
She is so extreme that even Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — by some measures the most deranged member of Congress — has described Loomer as “mentally unstable” and “toxic.”
After the Times report was published last year and the news immediately sparked a storm of criticism, the former president apparently backed off his plans and withdrew the instructions he had given his team about hiring Loomer.
That was a year and a half ago. This week it became clear that Trump is once again associating with the right-wing activist. Loomer even attended the presidential debate this week and traveled on the Republican candidate’s plane.
A day later, Trump attended a September 11 memorial and brought Loomer along, despite the radical activist spreading false conspiracy theories about the terrorist attack being an “inside job.”
In theory, it seems utterly insane that a major party candidate for the highest office in the land would bring a 9/11 Truther to a 9/11 memorial. In practice, Trump did it anyway, assuming he could get away with it. (If a Democratic presidential candidate brought a 9/11 Truther to a 9/11 memorial, it would likely go down as one of the year’s defining scandals. For the GOP candidate, it’s just another scandal, added to a long list of other scandals.)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned the Republican candidate’s choice of a corporation during a news conference, calling Trump’s decision “shocking, irresponsible and insulting.” The New York Democrat said the former president’s actions “should shock the conscience of all decent Americans.”
Jeffries: Trump taking 9/11 conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer to a 9/11 ceremony was shocking and insulting to the thousands of people who died on September 11. Donald Trump is a conspiracy theory-spreading, racist, firebrand, and pathological liar. His actions… photo.twitter.com/0drGCdKwso
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 12, 2024
As it turns out, Democratic leaders aren’t the only ones dissatisfied. Semafor reported that even some Republicans are “concerned” about Loomer’s influence on Trump.
If recent history is anything to go by, the former president will respond by further exposing his ties to the right-wing activist. And if voters do restore Trump to the White House, it’s hard not to wonder whether Loomer is a candidate for a role in his administration.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
