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6 days ago
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A 31-year-old far right influencer with a history of controversies has sparked a meltdown among Republicans as she gains traction in Donald Trump's inner circle.
Laura Loomer, a twice failed Congressional candidate in Florida and self-described 'proud Islamophobe', raised eyebrows as she was spotted attending Trump's debate showdown with Kamala Harris - with some observers noticing her appearing to be cozying up to the former president.
While she has no official role in the campaign, it was reported in April 2023 that Trump was intent on offering Loomer a job, only for the proposition to be met with dismay from his aides.
And after re-appearing in Trump world at the debate, the bad blood between Loomer and some influential Republicans continued when she took to Twitter - one of the many platforms she has been banned from in the past - to offer a prediction.
'If Kamala Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry,' she tweeted.
Far right influencer Laura Loomer has raised eyebrows with her growing presence in Donald Trump's campaign as the presidential race heads into the home stretch
Loomer, a twice failed Congressional candidate in Florida, has been painted by her critics as an attention-seeking provocateur who should be too 'toxic' to be around a presidential candidate
Loomer's 'curry' tweet was met with disdain from several top Republicans known to be close to Trump's orbit, with Senator Lindsay Graham branding her 'really toxic.'
'(Trump) would serve himself well to make sure this doesn’t become a bigger story,' he said.
Loomer first captured attention in conservative circles around 2015, when she was suspended from Barry University in Florida after attempting to create the 'Sympathetic Students in Support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' club.
Although Loomer allegedly created the group to prove woke students would support ISIS, it only led to her being suspended for breaching student code of conduct and allegations that she filmed people without their consent.
In the years since, Loomer been seen by her critics, including those on the right, as an attention-seeking influencer who hopes for controversy, also including floating theories that the 2018 Parkland school shooting - where 17 people were killed - was staged.
She has routinely catapulted off controversies to boost her brand, also including a high-profile ban from Uber after arguing that users should be allowed to choose non-Muslim drivers.
Since she joined Trump's campaign, officially or unofficially, as the 2024 presidential race enters its home stretch, insiders are increasingly pointing the finger at Loomer as the source of Trump's troubles.
Loomer, pictured with Donald Trump Jr and his fiancée Kimberly Guifoyle, has been gaining traction in Trump's inner circle to the dismay of his aides
Before Trump's debate with Kamala Harris in September, Loomer was spotted flying to the event in Trump's jet, and was blamed by some for influencing his performance
'Regardless of any guardrails the Trump campaign has put on her, I don’t think it’s working,' a person close to the former president told Semafor - noting that efforts to keep the two apart have mostly failed.
The insider spoke to the outlet shortly after Trump's debate with Kamala Harris, where he ranted about unproved claims that Haitian migrants were eating the pets of Ohio residents after they were sent there by Democrats.
While the false claims spread rapidly through conservative circles on X, their role in Trump's rhetoric as he spoke to a national audience raised concerns.
Dennis Lennox, a Republican consultant, said Trump 'lost the debate because of his performance or lack thereof... That’s what happens when you wing it, live in the Fox News—X bubble, and rely upon Matt Gaetz, let alone Laura Loomer.'
The next morning, Trump again opened fresh wounds by inviting Loomer to join him as he paid his respects to the victims of 9/11 at Ground Zero in Manhattan.
A usually somber event attended by ex-presidents, Loomer's appearance drew attention away from the tribute as her provocative past resurfaced.
Just one year prior, she shared a video to X that claimed 9/11 'was an inside job', and implied it was linked to a scandal at the time over the federal government allegedly 'losing' trillions in government funds.
Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance seen together attending the 9/11 memorial in Manhattan on September 11, 2024 - which Loomer was also invited to as Trump's guest
While painted by some of her critics as a fringe player in the world of Republican politics, Loomer has not been without some success among the GOP electorate.
In 2020, she defeated five opponents to win the Republican primary in Florida's 21st Congressional District with 43 percent of the vote.
However, she went on to lose to incumbent Lois Frankel in the deep blue district - but Loomer's aspirations for office were not done.
A year after her defeat, she announced her candidacy for Florida's 11st district, where Donald Trump is notably a registered voter.
Although she failed to advance out of the Republican primary, Loomer's diehard commitment to MAGA was on full display as she - like Trump in 2020 - refused to concede her loss to Rep. Daniel Webster.
In an election night speech, Loomer called out vague allegations of voter fraud and argued that 'big tech' targeted her candidacy, telling a crowd: 'I'm not conceding because I'm a winner.'
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