With less than two months until the US election, the race for the presidency is intensifying.
Following a second attempted assassination of Republican nominee Donald Trump, and a significant celebrity endorsement for Kamala Harris, the campaign has turned into a full-blown political spectacle — but there's a new player stealing the show.
Her name is Laura Loomer.
Watch: Laura Loomer being praised by Donald Trump. Post continues below.
Who is Laura Loomer?
Laura Loomer is a 31-year-old alt-right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist, who has a large following online (particularly on YouTube) due to her extreme views.
She told a white nationalist conference that she is a self-described "white advocate".
Loomer adopts a strong anti-immigrant rhetoric, as well as being anti-Islam. She has perpetuated multiple conspiracy theories about school shootings in the US, the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol, 9/11, and supposed election fraud.
She started making headlines last week because she was travelling around with Trump on his private plane to important political events. People joked on platforms like X that it almost appeared like he had a 'girlfriend' by his side.
Amelia Lester is the Deputy Editor of Foreign Policy Magazine. Speaking with Mamamia's news podcast The Quicky, Lester explained who Loomer is.
"What she is really known for is her Islamophobia. She's described Islam as a 'cancer', and has seemed to celebrate the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean," said Lester.
"The reason why we have seen her spike in fame just recently, is that she posted a very racist comment about Kamala Harris on X. It was so racist that a number of MAGA-acolytes came out and called it racist."
Marjorie Taylor Greene is an American far-right Georgia politician and she is a MAGA-supporter.
Greene, along with many others in Trump's camp, said she was appalled by the comments from Loomer that reinforced South Asian stereotypes.
"This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump. This type of behaviour should not be tolerated ever," Greene wrote.
As Lester noted to The Quicky: "This is the first time in MAGA world that we've seen people draw a line in the sand. Loomer has clearly become very close with Trump, and she has been to Mar-a-Lago [Trump's Florida residence] at least nine times since January 2021."
Listen to Amelia Lester on The Quicky here. Post continues below.
Laura Loomer and Donald Trump's relationship.
This week, comedian and commentator Bill Maher was talking about the US election on his talk show, when he suggested that Loomer was having an affair with none other than Trump.
He was making the suggestion following Loomer's comments that claimed Taylor Swift is in an arranged relationship with Travis Kelce in order to influence the election.
"I think maybe Laura Loomer's in an arranged relationship to influence the election because she's very close to Trump", Maher said.
"She's 31, looks like his type… Who's Trump f**king? Because I said, it's not nobody. He's been a dog for too long. And it's not Melania. I think we may have our answer this week."
Loomer has since spoken on her podcast and denied the affair reports.
"This is unacceptable. And it's a full blown lie and incredibly disrespectful to [former] President Trump and [former] First Lady Melania Trump. It's a full blown character assassination campaign."
After more and more extreme comments and conspiracy theories being made by Loomer publicly, Trump's campaign has tried to distance themselves from her.
Trump's running mate for Vice President, JD Vance, has even tried to assure the public of his non-affiliation to Loomer, given her recent vocal disagreements with various Republicans who are 'non-MAGA'.
Instead, Vance described Loomer as simply "a social media personality who supports Donald Trump".
It comes despite Loomer saying that Trump "likes" and "trusts" her.
And despite the fact that Trump invited Loomer to attend various 9/11 memorials with him in New York City and Pennsylvania this month (even though she is a vocal 9/11 conspiracy promoter).
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Laura Loomer doesn't work for the Campaign. She's a private citizen and longtime supporter. 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!"
Lester told The Quicky that it's more likely than not that Loomer's "influence will continue to be felt".
"I don't think Trump has shown any indication that he wants to stop hanging out with her — platonically or romantically, either way. As long as she's around him, the very divisive rhetoric about immigrants is going to continue."
Feature Image: Getty.