Former President and current Republican Party candidate Donald Trump is dating far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer because of her unwavering devotion to the former president, Maggie Haberman has suggested.
Trump faced backlash last week after Loomer joined him for 9/11 memorials and was part of his entourage at the presidential debate. Trump has defended her presence, noting that she is not employed by his campaign but is a staunch supporter.
“That’s the problem, right?” Haberman told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, noting that the Trump campaign last year rescinded a job offer to Loomer because of his past offensive comments.
“But she’s with him a lot. He clearly likes her. He clearly wants to see what she’s going to say,” Haberman continued. “Donald Trump, as some people have known him the longest, likes people who will do anything for him and that’s what Laura Loomer will do.”
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Loomer praises Trump, “and she considers herself his biggest defender, and she will go after people who criticize him on social media, and he loves all that,” she added.
Collins suggested that Trump’s tentative attempt to distance himself from the controversy surrounding Loomer — by saying he was unaware of comments she had made in the past — was part of a pattern, and that he had used the same tactic before when talking about the far-right Proud Boys or former KKK leader David Duke.
“It’s a gesture that he uses for almost everything that he doesn’t want to claim ownership of,” Haberman said. Trump “is a man who has a few gestures that he uses over and over again and the goal with all of those gestures is to try to insulate himself and not be tied to that,” she added.
Watch the full interview here:
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