Laura Loomer is the symptom. The real problem is Donald Trump. [View all]

It’s impossible, unproductive and, frankly, tedious to respond to every Trump outrage. So I try to pick my shots and spare readers what would otherwise be an unbearable barrage. But the moment has arrived again — this time in the repulsive form of Laura Loomer, the far-right bigot, conspiracy theorist and, in recent days, campaign trail companion of the former president.

As with other Trump provocations — abjuring the intention to be a dictator “except for day one”; calling for the “termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution” to deal with supposed election fraud; praising those charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection as “hostages” — his association with Loomer is not an aberration but an illustration. It demonstrates who Donald Trump is and underscores the danger he poses.

Loomer is no outlier in Trumpworld. Rather, she is a particularly pungent example of the types of people with whom Trump has chosen to ally himself, from Stephen K. Bannon to Roger Stone to Stephen Miller. This is a man who dined at Mar-a-Lago with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, whom Trump described as “a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about.”

Loomer, though, might take the cake. The 31-year-old twice-failed congressional candidate, professional provocateur and self-described “investigative journalist” has proclaimed herself a “#ProudIslamophobe,” termed Islam a “cancer on society” and said “Muslims should not be allowed to seek positions of political office in this country.” She posted a video on X that labeled 9/11 an “Inside Job,” although she didn’t use the phrase herself. She responded to a news story about the drowning deaths of 2,000 migrants with a hand clap emoji and the words “Good. … Here’s to 2,000 more.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/15/laura-loomer-trump-campaign/