Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has described herself as a “proud Islamophobe”, has been growing closer to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
She has been appearing more frequently at Trump campaign events in recent days, including a ceremony commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – despite being a proponent of the theory that the attacks were an inside job.
Ms Loomer is well known for her controversial remarks and social media posts, which have included saying that Muslims should not be allowed to seek public office in the US.
According to reports, Mr Trump had wanted to give Ms Loomer a role in his campaign, but The New York Times reported there was resistance from some supporters who thought she would be a liability.
One person close to the former president's campaign told Semafor they were “100 per cent” concerned about her exacerbating his weaknesses.
“Regardless of any guardrails the Trump campaign has put on her, I don’t think it’s working,” the person said.
Ms Loomer, who describes herself as an investigative journalist, has worked with a variety of conservative organisations and outlets, including Project Veritas and Alex Jones's InfoWars.
She rose to notoriety not only for her views but also the number of times those views have got her banned by social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook, which accused her of spreading hate speech and misinformation. Her Twitter – now X – account was reinstated once Elon Musk bought the platform.
In one of her statements, she said on social media in 2018 that “someone needs to create a non-Islamic form of Uber or Lyft” because she did not want to support Muslim immigrant drivers.
Mr Trump has been accused of Islamophobia, issuing a 2017 order that barred people from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
Ms Loomer attempted to ride her fame to Congress but she lost two primaries. On her loss, she told supporters not to vote Republican.
Apart from her growing closeness to Mr Trump, Ms Loomer has made headlines this week due to a public feud with fellow Trump supporter Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The feud began after Ms Loomer made a racist post on X that said, should Vice President Kamala Harris – who is half Indian – win the presidency, the White House will “smell like curry” and her “speeches will be facilitated via a call centre”.
Ms Taylor Greene, one of Mr Trump's most outspoken allies in Congress, responded by saying: “This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans or Maga [Make America Great Again].”
Ms Loomer instantly went on the attack and hit out at Ms Taylor Green for her alleged marital infidelities and her own racism, calling her an anti-Semite and a “trailer trash harpy”.
Asked about Ms Loomer's comments on Ms Harris, Mr Trump said he was not aware of them.
“She's been a supporter of mine, she speaks very positively of the campaign,” Mr Trump said on Friday. “I don't control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She's a free spirit … She is a strong person, she's got strong opinions.”
In a Truth Social post later on Friday, Mr Trump clarified that Ms Loomer does not work for the campaign and she is a private citizen.
“I disagree with the statements she made but, like the many millions of people who support me, she is tired of watching the Radical Left Marxists and Fascists violently attack and smear me, even to the point of doing anything to stop their Political Opponent, ME,” he wrote.
