Donald Trump devotee Laura Loomer sparks MAGA civil war

Donald Trump's presidential campaign hit some turbulence as the MAGA world sparred over his cozy relationship with right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer.

The 31-year-old firebrand accompanied Trump on his private plane as he as jetted to the presidential debate in Philadelphia and the 9/11 commemoration in New York on Wednesday.

Loomer - known for spewing hate-filled screeds against a wide swath of religious and ethnic groups - has been described as Trump's 'security blanket.' 

'I spent a few days with Laura Loomer earlier this year and came away with the impression that she functions as a security blanket for Trump,' tweeted Washington Post reporter Kara Voght. 

'When campaigning asks him to deny his most based tendencies, Loomer encourages them. And Trump loves that.'  

Despite the comfort she provides, an array of Republicans from Marjorie Taylor-Green to Senator Lindsey Graham have denounced Loomer as 'appalling and extremely racist' 

Loomer sparked an avalanche of criticism after she claimed a Harris presidency would make the White House 'smell like curry.' 

Graham called her comments 'beyond disturbing', said she was 'toxic' and warned Trump to make sure her presence 'doesn't become a bigger story'.

His comments prompted Loomer to claim the senator was a homosexual.

'I want you to relieve yourself of your toxic closeted anger,' Loomer sneered in response to Graham. 'It's 2024. Nobody needs to hide that they are gay anymore.'

Loomer, who has reported for Alex Jones's Infowars, has cast herself as one of Trump's most devoted allies in his fight for the White House and castigated Republicans she accuses of disloyalty. 

Trump has repeatedly voiced his praise and has described her as a 'very important person, politically'.

'The great Laura Loomer — some of you know Laura — she's fantastic person, great woman,' he told an audience in Nashville in July.

As the infighting escalated on Thursday, she engaged in a vicious spat with GOP spokesperson Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a former Miss Ohio. 

Loomer labelled Gilbert 'one of these talentless bimbos in the GOP who actually thinks it’s an accomplishment to be a 'pageant queen'.

'Madison Begged Donald Trump for an endorsement when she ran for Congress and now she's on CNN with Van Jones attacking Donald Trump,' she tweeted. 'It's sickening how disloyal so many of these grifters are.'

'No, we're on CNN attacking you, the racist. Period,' Gesiotto Gilbert hit back.

'But, keep lying to yourself. You are a grifter and a liar, among other things. I've supported President Trump for a decade. You're just in the way.'

'Listen cupcake,' replied Loomer in an excoriating retort. 'You're a bimbo who calls herself a 'beauty queen' and you didn't even defend Donald Trump a single time tonight when he was attacked while you were glammed up on a network in a segment meant to attack Donald Trump.

'I don't need to be told I'm a grifter when you think you are accomplishing something by wearing a bathing suit and a Tiara.

'If I give you a Tiara for being a useless bimbo will you go away and stop lying about Trump and his Allies on TV? Let me know, I'll send it overnight priority.'

The pair have been seen hugging at public events and Loomer has long boasted of her closeness to the former president.

She told CNN she was on the plane with him the day after he was shot.

'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 (Republican National Convention), so it could show that I'm a trustworthy person, I have his back,' she explained.

She has run twice for Congress on the Republican ticket with his backing, once for the Florida district of his Mar-a-Lago home.

She has described Islam as a 'cancer' and Muslims as 'savages', insisting they should not be allowed to seek political office in the US.

She has suggested that some Democrats should be executed for 'treason', and excoriated Jewish people who vote Democrat, claiming they 'might as well just go put (themselves) in a gas chamber yourself if this is how they're gonna behave'.

And she infuriated some Republicans during the party primaries when she repeatedly heckled Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and accused his wife Casey of using her breast cancer diagnosis to attract sympathy votes for her husband.

Democrats gleamed at the increasingly poisonous atmosphere between their rivals yesterday with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declaring: 'No leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison.'

House minority leader and New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries said her presence with Trump at the 9/11 commemorations should 'shock the conscience of all decent Americans'.

The tensions burst into the open when Taylor-Greene reposted the statement on X by Loomer stating that if Vice President Kamala Harris won the election, '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.'

'This is appalling and extremely racist,' the Georgia congresswoman tweeted. '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.

Loomer brushed off the attack on Harris's Indian heritage, saying she was joking. Trump himself said he was fine with Harris's racial identity after being asked in the debate about his past comment saying she 'turned' black.

'I don't care what she is. I don't care. You make a big deal out of something. I couldn't care less. Whatever she wants to be is okay with me,' Trump said about Harris in the debate.

The attack from Greene, who is herself a lightning rod in the Republican House, comes after several conservative commentators including Brit Hume on Fox News Channel said Harris won the debate and said Trump 'rose to the bait repeatedly' amid Harris' attacks.

Green uncorked still more attacks at the Capitol on Thursday. 

'I have concerns about her rhetoric and her hateful tone. To me, many of the comments that she makes and how she attacks Republicans like me, many other Republicans that are strong supporters of President Trump, I think they're a huge problem, and that doesn't represent MAGA as a whole,' she told DailyMail.com and a group of reporters amid the ongoing fallout.

'I typically try to ignore her post, but someone had sent me that post about Kamala Harris, and it bothered me so much. And you know, my personality, everyone knows I'm outspoken, and I just felt like it was time to call it out. I think it's wrong. We're not a party of identity politics. We're a party for all Americans,' the lawmaker said.

She called for going after Harris on inflation and the border, 'not attacking them because they may not have children and they love their pets, and I don't want to have anything to do with that.' 

That appeared to be a reference both the pet-eating conspiracy Trump forwarded and running mate JD Vance's past remark about 'childless cat ladies.'

Loomer accused Greene of infidelity and referenced a bombshell story by DailyMail.com

'While you were busy having sexual affairs, cheating on your husband and getting divorced, and propping up @SpeakerMcCarthy and engaging in insider trading in Congress @MTG, I broke many of the stories regarding the weaponized lawfare against President Trump.'

'I have done all of the heavy lifting while you have been writing books and attacking Trump's closest Allies in an effort to elevate yourself,' she wrote.

She continued tweeting about the rift through the day Thursday. 'I stand by everything I have said. I will not be deleting any tweets.'

Nor did Loomer back down from Trump's comments about pet eating at the debate.

'They're eating the dogs. They're eating the cats. Time to send them back,' she posted.