Far-right activist Laura Loomer's access to Trump reveals a crisis in his campaign

No one can keep former President Donald Trump away from Laura Loomer.

Throughout his third presidential campaign, aides and advisers have done their best to shield him from Loomer, a far-right social media influencer, and similar figures who stroke his ego and stoke his basest political instincts.

They lost that battle this week, as Loomer traveled on Trump’s jet to his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday and to Sept. 11 memorial services Wednesday. Her presence at the latter infuriated some Democrats and Republicans because one of the many conspiracy theories she has promoted is the false notion that the terrorist assault on the U.S. was an “inside job.” It wasn’t.

Loomer’s return to Trump’s side is pitting key figures in his coalition against one another, testing the strength of a campaign already reeling from his subpar debate performance Tuesday and Democrats’ resurgence in the wake of their July candidate switch. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., major Trump allies in Congress who represent opposite ends of the Republican ideological spectrum, are publicly pressing him to ditch her. Loomer fired back Thursday with a string of invective about Graham.

Moreover, her presence reflects Trump’s loss of faith in his campaign aides and their concomitant fear of upsetting him in a time of crisis, according to people familiar with the situation. Last month, he tapped his 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, to be an adviser to his top advisers — a move widely viewed as a rebuke of the existing leadership crew. 

A senior official from Trump’s 2020 campaign team said that helps explain why Loomer is no longer being kept at arm’s length.

“The people that have the authority to stop it are hanging on to their jobs,” the former official said. “So are you going to pick that fight with him?”

Loomer didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday, but fighting is a big part of her allure for Trump. She advocates as fiercely for him as she does for theories on the political fringe, like the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. Trump promoted that during Tuesday’s debate, creating an unwelcome distraction from his substantive differences with Harris, according to many Republicans. Graham and Greene portray her as a counterproductive influence on Trump when he is locked in a tight battle with Harris for the presidency.

Graham said Thursday that Loomer is “really toxic” and shouldn’t be in Trump’s circle. Loomer clapped back on X with a schoolyard taunt. 

“Senator Graham is working tirelessly day and night to help re-elect President Trump,” Graham communications director Taylor Reidy responded in a statement to NBC News. “This race is very much ours to lose. Ms. Loomer is a stain on society. There should be no place of prominence in this country for her vile, mean-spirited, destructive, racist rhetoric and views.”

A Republican senator who is also a Trump ally said Trump is “often drawn to people who like and promote him.”

“It’s really dumb,” the senator added. 

Loomer’s willingness to hit below the belt and her influence within the Make America Great Again movement’s most aggressive elements are reasons enough for many of her critics to keep their mouths shut publicly. Few elected Republicans want to stick their necks out. But many lawmakers and donors back Greene’s posture toward Loomer, according to a source familiar with the situation, and some of them are reminding people in Trump’s orbit that Loomer lost two campaigns for Congress.

Greene’s beef with Loomer, which dates back a long time, was rekindled this week when Loomer wrote on X that a win by Harris, who is Indian American and Black, would mean “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.” 

The remark yielded rare agreement from Greene and President Joe Biden’s White House about what constitutes racism: Loomer’s words.

Trump advisers are trying to distance themselves from her without drawing his ire, making it clear that she doesn’t speak for his operation. Loomer is “not a member of our staff,” said a Trump campaign aide, who asked to remain anonymous.

When NBC News asked for comment this week, Loomer similarly said by text: “Why do you want to speak to me? I don’t work for President Trump.” 

Last year, she said she would “gladly” serve as press secretary in a Trump White House.

Democrats hammered Trump on Thursday for inviting Loomer to join him at the 9/11 memorial service.

“It was shocking and irresponsible and offensive to the thousands of people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, including hundreds of brave first responders, members of the NYPD, FDNY and others who raced toward the danger in order to help people escape the danger and lost their lives as a result of it,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters. 

“Donald Trump is a conspiracy theory-peddling racial arsonist and pathological liar,” he added. “And the fact that on Sept. 11, this sacred day, he would bring a 9/11 conspiracy theorist to participate in events during this solemn commemoration should shock the conscience of all decent Americans, and I believe that it does just that.”

A Trump campaign official said Wednesday that the memorial service wasn’t about politics.

“President Trump put politics aside and stood beside Kamala Harris and Joe Biden to honor those who lost their lives during the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history,” the official said in a statement. “The day wasn’t about anyone other than the souls who are no longer with us, their families, and the heroes who courageously stepped up to save their fellow Americans on that fateful day.”

A Republican senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering his party’s nominee, said Trump is endangering his chances of winning — and so are the staff members who aren’t playing gatekeeper.

“Everybody’s stunned that he would bring her down on his plane to the debate but even more stunned that she would be riding with him on the 9/11 anniversary. That kind of stuff will create a distraction you can’t overcome,” the senator said.

Asked whether Trump aides are enabling Loomer for fear of losing their jobs, the senator said, “There’s a lot of that in almost every campaign, but definitely this campaign.”