Trump allies are drawing a line with 'unabashed racist' Loomer — here’s why

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) are among the Donald Trump supporters who have urging the former president to distance himself from far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a 9/11 truther and self-described "proud Islamophobe" who is drawing widespread criticism for an overtly racist tweet attacking Vice President Kamala Harris' Indian heritage.

Trump, however, has defended Loomer, saying that he doesn't always agree with her but posting, on Truth Social, "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."

In an article published by The Atlantic on September 17, journalist Ari Breland offers some reasons why Trump allies like Graham and Greene drew a line with Loomer.

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"In the nine years since Donald Trump descended the golden escalator in Trump Tower," Breland observes, "Republican politicians have become less and less likely to publicly disagree with him. But in recent days, a rift has opened up between Trump and the GOP over one of his allies. Laura Loomer, an online conspiracy theorist with a penchant for bigotry, was seen leaving Trump's private plane with him before the presidential debate last Tuesday."

Breland adds, "The next day, Loomer, who has said that 9/11 was an 'inside job,' tagged along with Trump to a 9/11 memorial event. Republican politicians do not like her proximity to the ex-president and have said so."

The journalist notes that Republicans "have good reason for disavowing Loomer."

"Loomer's racism is completely unabashed and unveiled, making her a unique liability even in a party that has spent the past two weeks terrorizing immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, with racist lies," Breland explains. "Like Trump, Loomer almost never backs down. But she doesn't have the same media-power-broker status as Charlie Kirk or Tucker Carlson, both of whom have flirted with racism. And unlike Greene, Loomer doesn't have a vote in Congress."

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Breland adds, "She provides less value to Republicans in Congress and is thus easier to censure."

Read Ari Breland's full article for The Atlantic at this link (subscription required).