Friday, October 4
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Trump backs away from far-right activist Loomer’s comments but welcomes her support


TAMPA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 05: Laura Loomer shows her support for former President Donald Trump outside a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at The Vault on October 05, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Ron DeSantis held the campaign event with Florida sheriffs after receiving endorsements from 60 bipartisan Florida law enforcement officers.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Laura Loomer shows her support for former President Donald Trump outside a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at The Vault on 5 October 2023 in Tampa, Florida.
Photo: JOE RAEDLE / AFP

By Alexandra Ulmer for Reuters

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump today sought to distance himself from far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, whose presence on the campaign trail drew rebukes from both Trump’s allies and the White House, but he did not disavow her.

In a statement released on Friday, Trump said he did not agree with Loomer’s past statements, but he still welcomed her support. Trump made clear that she does not work for his campaign, even though Loomer traveled on his plane for much of the week.

Loomer, who commands a following on X of 1.2 million people, previously suggested the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were an inside job by sharing a video last year on X that promoted that conspiracy theory. She has since changed her position and told CNN in an interview published on Thursday that the attacks were carried out by “Islamic terrorists.”

Earlier in the day, Trump was asked about Loomer during a press conference at his Southern California golf club.

“She is a strong person, she’s got strong opinions,” Trump said, calling her a “free spirit.”

Loomer showed up at Trump’s debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday against Democratic rival Kamala Harris and then in New York on Wednesday to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

She sparked fierce blowback when she posted on X earlier this week that if Harris, who is of Indian descent, won the 5 November election, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.”

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre denounced Loomer’s remarks as “racist poison” and criticised Trump for associating with her.

Several prominent Trump-supporting Republicans, including US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and US Senators Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis, also denounced Loomer after her comment about Harris.

Tillis wrote on X on Friday that Loomer “is a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans.”

During Trump’s press conference in California, Loomer was busily promoting his remarks on X and making incendiary comments about immigrants who enter the US illegally.

Afterward, she posted: “I’m simply a ride or die supporter of President Trump.” In a separate post on Friday, she said the Republicans attacking her were jealous that they were not with Trump on his plane.

Loomer, a Floridian who has twice unsuccessfully run for Congress, has a long history of expressing anti-Muslim sentiment. Her views caused her then-Twitter account to be banned, a decision that was reversed after Elon Musk bought the company, since renamed X.

Reuters





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