Laura Loomer, a far-right social media personality, has found herself in the headlines once again after the 31-year-old urged Trump to fire National Security Council officials.
Although she appeared to have been sidelined at points by Donald Trump’s campaign, her presence in the White House shows her influence in the current administration.
In the past she has faced criticism for entertaining 9/11 conspiracy theories and her history of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim posts and racist comments. During the 2024 race, she said that “the White House will smell like curry” if Kamala Harris won, in reference to her Indian heritage.
Loomer, 31, has long been involved in politics as an advocate of Trump. She twice unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2020 and 2022 in South Florida and had been known for staging protests including handcuffing herself to a Twitter office after the service banned her and jumping a fence at a home owned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
She says she was invited to Mar-a-Lago after leading attacks against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was preparing to challenge Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
Loomer has a podcast called “Loomer Unleashed” on Rumble, a platform known for streaming far-right figures.
She also made a name for herself secretly filming herself as she pulled off stunts like allegedly trying to start a pro-ISIS group at her university, climbing into politicians' homes, and disrupting a play.
Last year, Loomer accompanied Trump on his 9/11 travels in New York and Pennsylvania and was also seen walking out of the plane the previous day after Trump landed in Philadelphia to debate his electoral opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Loomer said she was invited those days as a guest.
Loomer said she never officially joined the campaign after Trump’s allies preferred he would keep his distance.
During last year’s election after her racist posts about Harris, Trump said, “Laura’s been a supporter of mine” and that she had “strong opinions,” but denied knowledge of her comments. He would later post on his Truth Social account that he disagreed with her comments.
She rose to fame via social media where she would post content once seen as highly controversial. She has been banned from numerous social media platforms, including Facebook.
The influencer frequently makes anti-Islam and anti-immigrant posts on social media and made vile racist and sexist attacks against Harris. She once shared a video on X that said “9/11 was an Inside Job!”
She also hasn't shied away from sparring with other Trump allies, including Elon Musk. In December she publicly got into a spat with billionaire adviser Elon Musk, a native of South Africa, over their opposing positions on the use of skilled migration visas.
The conservative activist says such visas go against the “America First” agenda. Her account on X, a social media platform owned by Musk, was temporarily suspended, and for some time following the feud, she said she lost access to other paid features.
Earlier this month, Trump ended Secret Service protection details assigned to Democrat Joe Biden’s adult children following a report from Loomer with photos showing Hunter Biden’s protective detail while in South Africa.
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