A look at Laura Loomer, longtime Trump ally criticized for racist posts and Sept. 11 conspiracies

WASHINGTON — Laura Loomer, a right-wing personality known for her incendiary social media presence, appeared to have been sidelined at points by Donald Trump's campaign and then by his administration.

But she has long had the president's ear and may have it again, at least for now.

In an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, the conservative activist urged Trump to fire National Security Council officials, as the team struggles to answer questions not only on why they were using Signal, a publicly available encrypted app, to discuss a military operation in Yemen, but how a journalist was mistakenly added to the group chat. Trump followed suit, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

It was the latest sign of Loomer's influence, even as she has faced criticism for entertaining 9/11 conspiracy theories and her history of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim posts. Loomer, who is prolific on social media, has been tearing into some of Trump’s allies and advisers, calling out what she calls a “vetting crisis” within the White House and implying members of his team are trying to subvert his agenda.

Trump has long praised Loomer while distancing himself at times from her most controversial comments.

Here's what to know about Loomer and what both she and Trump said about the latest incident.

How did she get close to Trump?

Loomer, 31, has 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.

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.

What makes her an influential figure?

Loomer has been banned from numerous social media platforms, including Facebook. She posted during last year’s presidential campaign that if Harris beat Trump, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.” Harris was the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.

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.

What is she known for?

Loomer has a podcast called “Loomer Unleashed” on Rumble, a platform known for streaming far-right figures. Her last name has been coined as a verb that people on both sides of the political aisle use for when politicians, officials, or other figures are publicly shamed.

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!”

The conspiracy theory that U.S. officials are hiding information about the Sept. 11 attacks or were somehow involved in the planning has taken hold among a segment of determined “truthers,” but many of their most prevalent claims have fallen apart upon further scrutiny.

What happened with Loomer this week?

People speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters say Loomer met with Trump, Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Sergio Gor, director of the Presidential Personnel Office and presented “research findings.”

When reached for comment, Loomer referred The Associated Press to an X post shared earlier on Thursday, saying she was not going to divulge any details about her Oval Office meeting with Trump “out of respect” for the president.

“I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security,” Loomer said.

Loomer has been critical of Waltz and his own vetting process. In the lead up to the meeting, she complained to sympathetic administration officials that he relied too much on “neocons,” or neoconservatives within the GOP and “not-MAGA-enough” types.

Loomer has attacked principal deputy national security adviser Alex Wong, who was Waltz’ aide taking the lead in assembling the team based on the conversation shared by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg.

What has Trump said about her?

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.

Trump denied on Thursday that Loomer had anything to do with aides being ousted from their jobs at the National Security Council, calling her a “very good patriot and a very strong person.”

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he made his way to Miami that she only made recommendations.

“Sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody,” Trump said, adding: “She’s usually very constructive. She recommended certain people for jobs.”

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Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.