Far-right activist Laura Loomer pushes back amid criticism of her proximity to Trump
Laura Loomer, the far-right social media figure who has pushed multiple conspiracy theories and has posted racist comments, on Friday pushed back against criticism of her proximity to former President Donald Trump after she accompanied him to several events this week and Trump called her a "supporter" and "free spirit."
"I have always fought for Donald Trump and never asked for anything in return," Loomer told her more than one million followers on Friday as several Republicans criticized her, asserting she's damaging Trump's campaign.
Loomer pledged to "continue working hard on my investigations and exposés. Just like I have been doing for years."
Less than an hour later, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called Loomer a "crazy conspiracy theorist" who is hurting Trump's campaign.
"Laura Loomer is a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans. A DNC plant couldn't do a better job than she is doing to hurt President Trump's chances of winning re-election. Enough," Tillis wrote on X.
Loomer is not expected to appear with him on the campaign trail on Friday or this weekend.
During a news conference on Friday, Trump called Loomer a "supporter" who "speaks very positively" of his campaign.
"Laura is a supporter. I don't control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She's a, she's a free spirit," said Trump, who claimed not to know about her controversial comments, but also said she had "strong opinions," and he'd review them as well as release a statement.
After the event, Trump reiterated that she doesn't work for the campaign, and noted "I disagree with the statements she made," without making a specific reference to which statements he disagrees with.
"Laura Loomer doesn't work for the Campaign. She's a private citizen and longtime supporter. I disagree with the statements she made but, like the many millions of people who support me, she is tired of watching the Radical Left Marxists and Fascists violently attack and smear me, even to the point of doing anything to stop their Political Opponent, ME!" Trump wrote.
Loomer told ABC News on Friday that she doesn't work for Trump, but is a "super fan."
"I don't work for President Trump. I am simply a ride or die supporter and I believe in President Trump and his agenda to Make America Great Again," Loomer told ABC News.
On Tuesday, Loomer was seen boarding Trump's plane to Philadelphia ahead of the ABC News presidential debate, along with top campaign advisers. Loomer, who has espoused 9/11 conspiracy theories, also accompanied Trump on Wednesday to New York City and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- an event that even on Friday she continued to spread false information about.
"23 years later, and there's still a lot of unanswered questions," Loomer posted on social media on Friday.
"The 9/11 documents are still classified to this day. The American people deserve to know the entire truth. Not just what our lying government chose to tell us," Loomer wrote. "There's so many unanswered questions… Why?"
In the post, Loomer included an old video clip of Trump calling into local news to talk about the attacks -- in which Trump appears to suggest that bombs, possibly in a plane, could have played a role in the collapse.
Last year, Loomer on social media called 9/11 an "Inside Job," implying then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had played a role in the attacks. While Loomer traveled with Trump Wednesday, she posted videos of the former president attending the 9/11 memorial and meeting with firefighters in Manhattan and in Shanksville.
Loomer has frequently spread misinformation. In July, she falsely claimed in a social media post that President Joe Biden had a medical emergency after landing at Joint Base Andrews -- a claim for which there was no evidence.
Her post quickly spread across social media, but the facts were that Air Force One didn't land at Joint Base Andrews -- rather it landed at Delaware's National Guard Base where the president was seen exiting the plane on his own, saluting an officer and taking questions from reporters before departing to his hometown.
She had also started unsubstantiated claims about family members of Judge Juan Merchan in the New York hush money case, including that his daughter posted a fake photo of Trump in jail on social media, which the court has denied. It prompted Trump to share Loomer's posts and spread the rumors.
Some campaign advisers have disagreed with her proximity to him.
On social media, she has touted her role in spreading memes about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating cats and ducks, a rumor that has been repeatedly dispelled by local officials.
On his way to Philadelphia on Tuesday, Trump began sharing some of those AI-generated memes, and on the debate stage later that night, Trump repeated those baseless claims, despite local officials dismissing them.
"The people that came in, they're eating the cats, they're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there," Trump said on the debate stage, citing "the people on television," even as ABC News' debate moderator David Muir repeatedly clarified that Springfield's city manager said there is no evidence of that happening.
Earlier this week, bomb threats were sent via email to "multiple agencies and media outlets" in Springfield. The town's mayor said he believes these threats are directly connected to those baseless rumors spread online.
And Loomer -- amid her recent proximity to Trump -- has created a rift among some Republicans.
On Wednesday, Loomer engaged in an online dispute with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after the Georgia congresswoman -- also a controversial figure -- called her out in a social media post after Loomer said Vice President Kamala Harris' White House would smell like curry.
"If @KamalaHarris wins, 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 wrote on Sunday.
Greene responded on Wednesday, "This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump. This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever," urging her to take down the post.
Loomer hasn't taken the post down, claiming it was a "funny joke" and saying "I won't be apologizing for having a sense of humor."
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham echoed Greene's concerns, telling the Huffington Post, "Marjorie Taylor Greene is right. I don't say that a lot."
"We have policy disagreements but the history of this person is just really toxic," Graham said of Loomer.
