Who is Laura Loomer, the right-wing activist in Trump’s inner circle?

(CNN) — As Donald Trump mingled and posed for pictures with firefighters on Wednesday – one of several stops to observe the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States – a small entourage of the former president’s inner circle looked on from outside Engine Company 4 Ladder Company 15 in New York City.

The group included the two most powerful individuals in Trump’s orbit, his co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. Standing near them was another figure whose sway with the Republican nominee also cannot be discounted: the far-right provocateur Laura Loomer.

Of all the days to count Loomer as a travel companion, September 11 was notable. Last year, she posted a video on social media claiming that the attack on the World Trade Center towers was an “inside job,” an illogical but pervasive conspiracy theory that continues to haunt the families of victims and survivors. Her anti-Muslim social media posts eventually earned her a ban from Twitter that lasted until billionaire Elon Musk bought the website, now known as X, and restored her account.

Asked why Loomer joined Trump for his Patriot Day travels in New York and then Pennsylvania, a campaign official declined to directly address her presence and instead focused on the bipartisan appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden.

“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,” the official said.

Loomer, in a phone interview with CNN, said, “I don’t understand what the issue is about me going to a 9/11 memorial. In fact, the people who greeted President Trump at the memorial, were very happy to see me, and they said, ‘Thank you for coming.’”

She added, “I’ve never denied the fact that Islamic terrorists carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In fact, the media calls me anti Muslim precisely for the reason that I spend so much time focusing on talking about the threats of Islamic terrorism in America.”

Loomer’s proximity on Wednesday was illustrative of her influence with Trump of late. She knows his personal number and has utilized it, one source familiar with the relationship told CNN. (Another source insisted she is respectful of his team and goes through the regular channels when she’s trying to reach him.) She’s been on a handful of trips with him, appears often at events where he is speaking and there have been times her bombastic social media posts have appeared to preview Trump’s next line of attack.

The former president has long embraced conspiracy theories and has regularly aligned himself with those who peddle in them, especially if they support him. He entered the political arena as one of the leading purveyors of myths about President Barack Obama’s birthplace. And after he lost the 2020 election, Trump surrounded himself with people who claimed with questionable or debunked evidence they could prove he won.

But several people close to the former president say Loomer has contributed to some of the unseemly conspiracy theories Trump has elevated since Harris replaced Biden on the ticket, a change that has left the GOP nominee increasingly unsettled by the political landscape he now faces.

“He wasn’t the one who came up with that talking point,” an adviser said when Trump questioned Harris’ ethnicity at an especially tense interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. The adviser pointed the finger at Loomer, who had baselessly accused Harris on X of hiding her Black heritage leading up to Trump’s appearance. Others pushed back on the notion she was behind Trump’s remarks.

“I don’t think it’s racist to mock the fact that Kamala Harris panders to every single group of people who she encounters in an effort to try to convince them that she shares their same identity,” Loomer told CNN. She did not weigh in on whether she influenced Trump’s remarks.

When Trump landed in Philadelphia on Tuesday before his debate against Harris, Loomer was among the close allies seen deboarding his private plane. Some saw it as no coincidence that hours later, an erratic Trump exclaimed from the debate stage that immigrants were “eating the pets” of Ohioans, referencing a fast-escalating rumor about Haitian migrants circulated this week by the online right, including Loomer. Trump’s own running mate, Sen. JD Vance, had spread that false claim before acknowledging on Tuesday that it may not be true.

Trump surprised some of his advisers when he brought the rumors to the debate stage Tuesday night, sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

But while some Trump allies admitted post-debate that the back-and-forth wasn’t helpful, Trump advisers doubled down, claiming the storyline aids their effort to put the spotlight on migrant crime in the US.

Two days before the debate, Loomer said that if Harris, who is half Indian, wins, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.”

It was a bridge too far even for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a notorious firebrand herself known to promote conspiracy theories, who wrote on social media that Loomer’s post was “appalling and extremely racist.”

She added: “It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA.”

Loomer told CNN of the post: “It’s interesting how the media wants to, once again, falsely accuse me of being a racist. This is a woman who is on video cooking Indian food with Indian celebrities talking about how she likes cooking with curry.”

Trump’s embrace of Loomer has baffled many conservatives who believe her antics are harmful to the mission of getting the Republican elected.

Steve Deace, a conservative podcast host, told CNN that Loomer “offers absolutely nothing to Donald Trump other than a lot of collateral damage on social media that provokes people to not want to vote for him who should be.”

“She is the manifestation of the point of diminishing returns,” he added.

Loomer has made a career out of courting controversy. Rising out of the radical right-wing online ecosystem, she has regularly tested the willingness of internet companies to enforce their terms of service. She once described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and tweeted in 2018 that “someone needs to create a non Islamic form of Uber or Lyft because I never want to support another Islamic immigrant driver.” She was eventually banned from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Loomer told CNN she is not “anti-Muslim.”

She twice ran for Congress in her home state of Florida, including once to represent Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, almost exclusively campaigning on her allegiance to the former president. She lost both races.

Her unyielding loyalty to Trump was on full display during the GOP primary, when she heckled Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at public appearances with a bullhorn and spread unfounded claims about his wife’s cancer diagnosis online.

Even as LaCivita and Wiles have managed to marginalize many of the interlopers who clung to Trump’s first two White House bids, Loomer has endured.

In August of last year, Trump even suggested the campaign hire Loomer for an official role, sources told CNN at the time. His advisers and allies, outraged by the idea, shot it down and she was never brought on. On social media, Loomer has stressed she doesn’t work for the political operation, saying she is “simply a loyal advocate” and believes Trump deserves “unconditional loyalty.”

Yet, the Trump stalwart has managed nearly unrestricted access to the former president as he seeks the country’s highest office once again. Trump spotted her in the crowd at a cryptocurrency conference this summer and praised her, telling the audience, “She’s a fantastic person, great woman.”

“He likes her,” a person close to Trump said. “Remember, last year there was a discussion about potentially hiring her. She hasn’t been hired but it’s not abnormal some of these people end up on the plane for a day or two.”

While Loomer’s travel with Trump reflects her elevated status within his orbit, it has caused tension among some in Trump’s inner circle.

Since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this summer, a stepped-up security presence on Trump’s Boeing 757 has meant fewer seats for advisers and allies. The arrangement has miffed some advisers and allies forced to fly commercial to Trump events, while giving the appearance, at least internally, of a special standing to those granted a coveted seat onboard what’s known as “Trump Force One.”

Loomer told CNN she also accompanied Trump on the plane the day after his assassination attempt.

“He wanted me on the plane with him the day after he almost got assassinated. I was with him. I flew with him to the (Republican National Convention), so it could show that I’m a trustworthy person, I have his back,” Loomer said.

With the exception of Loomer, those who were seen coming off the plane with him at Tuesday’s debate were his closest aides and advisers, and those that had helped prepare him for the face off with Harris – Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and longtime adviser Stephen Miller.

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