{"id":2340861,"date":"2024-09-13T16:21:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T20:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-declines-to-denounce-laura-loomer-despite-pleas-from-gop-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-13T16:25:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T20:25:08","slug":"donald-trump-declines-to-denounce-laura-loomer-despite-pleas-from-gop-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-declines-to-denounce-laura-loomer-despite-pleas-from-gop-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump declines to denounce Laura Loomer despite pleas from GOP &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdonald-trump-declines-to-denounce-laura-loomer-despite-pleas-from-gop-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2340861&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former President Donald Trump has publicly defended his association with Laura Loomer, a\u2064 controversial Republican \u2063activist, amidst criticism \u2063from both Republican and Democratic circles. Loomer, who \u2062is known \u200dfor her \u2064strong support of Trump and her embrace of conspiracy \u2062theories, traveled with him to a recent debate\u2063 and memorial services, \u200braising concerns among some of Trump&#8217;s allies regarding her \u200bpolarizing behavior. <\/p>\n<p>Trump characterized Loomer as a &#8220;strong person&#8221; with \u200bstrong opinions, asserting that he cannot control her statements or actions. He downplayed the implications of their relationship when questioned about her controversial comments, including racially tinged remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris. This defense has caused friction among\u200c some of\u200b Trump&#8217;s supporters in Congress, such as Senators Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham, who have criticized Loomer&#8217;s influence and urged\u200c Trump\u200c to distance himself from her. Despite this backlash, \u200cTrump continues to refer to Loomer positively, suggesting that she adds a spirited dynamic to his campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The criticism of A\u2062 Trump\u2019s debate performance and Loomer\u2019s presence \u2063has led to divided opinions among Republican leaders, complicating Trump&#8217;s standing within the party as\u200c he campaigns \u200dfor reelection. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has condemned Trump\u2019s remarks, portraying him\u200c as defensively grasping for relevance following \u200chis debate challenges.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Donald Trump defends his alliance with Laura Loomer: &lsquo;She is a strong person&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1759604\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Former President Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> defended his relationship with Republican activist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3151866\/laura-loomer-republicans-fear-conservative-activist-influence-growing-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Laura Loomer<\/a> Friday after her presence alongside the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"GOP\">GOP<\/a> presidential nominee has sparked criticism from both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republicans\">Republicans<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Former President Donald Trump\">Democrats<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Loomer, an outspoken Trump supporter who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blaming-conservatives-for-the-attack-on-pelosi-is-a-cynical-effort-to-chill-speech\/\" title=\"Blaming Conservatives For The Attack On Pelosi Is A Cynical Effort To Chill Speech\">embraced conspiracy theories<\/a>, flew on the former president&rsquo;s plane to the debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday and also traveled to the Sept.11 memorial services in New York and Pennsylvania on Wednesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Allies have long worried that he&rsquo;s too closely embraced the far-right activist who is known for her controversial social media activity. She most recently made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3152897\/trump-ally-laura-loomer-rebuked-white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>racially disparaging comments<\/a> about Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kamala Harris<\/a>, in which she posted that if Harris wins in November, &ldquo;the White House will smell like curry &amp; White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump declined to denounce Loomer&rsquo;s comments during a press conference on Friday at his California golf club and defended including her in his close inner circle.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Laura is a supporter. I don&rsquo;t control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants; she is a free spirit,&rdquo; Trump said in response to questions from reporters acknowledging the recent concern about his close association with her from political allies. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t tell Laura what to do. Laura is a supporter. I have lots of supporters.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She is a strong person; she has strong opinions, and I don&rsquo;t know what she said, but that&rsquo;s not up to me,&rdquo; Trump added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Laura Loomer watches as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump visits the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company in Shanksville, Pa., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In response to another question, Trump downplayed how Loomer traveled with him on his plane to the Philadelphia debate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A lot of people do. It&rsquo;s a very big plane,&rdquo; Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s decision to embrace Loomer has angered some of his top supporters on Capitol Hill, pitting even his most loyal supporters against one another in the aftermath of what some consider to be<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3151538\/republicans-point-finger-trump-debate-team-prep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-tries-to-downplay-bidens-struggles-during-cnn-debate-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris tries to downplay Biden\u2019s struggles during CNN debate - Washington Examiner\">subpar debate performance<\/a><\/a> on Tuesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even though Trump<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Channel4News\/status\/1833753161665773805\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> continues to proclaim<\/a> he won the debate &ldquo;by a lot&rdquo;, some Republicans say he missed opportunities to define Harris and took her bait when she attempted to knock him off-script.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has joined a chorus of other Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) who have voiced concerns about Loomer and have called on Trump to disassociate from her. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Laura Loomer is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-hispanic-voters-in-florida-who-fled-dictatorships-think-the-election-was-stolen-from-trump\/\" title=\"REPORT: Hispanic Voters In Florida Who Fled Dictatorships Think The Election Was Stolen From Trump\">crazy conspiracy theorist<\/a> who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans. A DNC plant couldn&rsquo;t do a better job than she is doing to hurt President Trump&rsquo;s chances of winning reelection. Enough,&rdquo; Tillis <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThomTillis\/status\/1834608581330505890\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote on X <\/a>on Friday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">  https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThomTillis\/status\/1834608581330505890 <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Trump claimed not to know about Loomer&rsquo;s embrace of conspiracy theories like claiming 9\/11 was &ldquo;an inside job,&rdquo; or calling Islam &ldquo;a cancer.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that much about it; I know she&rsquo;s a big fan of the campaign,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;She brings a spirit to us that a lot of people have. We have very spirited people. And in all fairness to her, she hates seeing what&rsquo;s happened to the country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Harris campaign slammed Trump&rsquo;s press conference in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/California\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>California<\/a>, claiming the former president &ldquo;took his trainwreck on the debate stage straight to California.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In a rambling, defensive, often incoherent event to promote his golf course, he yet again showed the country how he is melting down,&rdquo; said Harris campaign spokesman James Singer in a statement. &ldquo;He said &lsquo;nothing was done wrong&rsquo; in Charlottesville when neo-Nazis marched there, defended hanging out with a 9\/11 conspiracy theorist, and doubled down on the conspiracy theories ripping an Ohio community apart.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at his Ranchos Palos Verdes golf club on Friday, Trump repeatedly referred to Harris as &ldquo;Comrade Kamala,&rdquo; labeling her as a communist and portraying the state of California as a hellscape that has been destroyed by liberal politicians.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We cannot allow comrade Kamala Harris and the communist left to do to America what they did to California,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;What they&rsquo;ve done &mdash; Gavin [Newsom] Newscum and Kamala, I want to say Kamala more so &mdash; she destroyed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/San-Francisco\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>San Francisco<\/a> and she destroyed the state. When you look at the kind of destruction that&rsquo;s taken place, it&rsquo;s all man-made or woman-made destruction.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embattled-biden-faces-next-big-test-with-rare-solo-press-conference-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Embattled Biden faces next big test with rare solo press conference - Washington Examiner\">hourlong press conference<\/a>, Trump touched on a variety of topics, from criticism of how the ABC News debate was conducted to claiming Jews who vote for Democrats hate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Israel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Any Jewish person that votes for Kamala is crazy. She wouldn&rsquo;t go see the Prime Minister in Congress because she had a sorority party, which she considered to be more important,&rdquo; Trump said, referring to Harris missing Benjamin Netanyahu&rsquo;s joint address to Congress in July. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big deal when a prime minister comes to Congress and speaks and she doesn&rsquo;t want to go because she&rsquo;s at her sorority party, but that&rsquo;s not the real reason &mdash; it&rsquo;s because she hates Israel.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1759604\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1759604\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump has come to the defense of his association with Republican activist Laura Loomer, following backlash from both Republican and Democratic circles regarding her presence with him. Loomer, a vocal supporter of Trump known for her controversial views and conspiracy theories, accompanied him on his plane to the debate in Philadelphia and attended memorial services for September 11 in New York and Pennsylvania. Concerns have been raised by Trump&#8217;s allies about his close ties to Loomer, particularly after she made racially insensitive remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris. During a press conference at his California golf club, Trump refrained from condemning Loomer&#8217;s comments and instead praised her as a &#8220;strong person&#8221; with strong opinions. He stated that he cannot control what she says or does since she is an independent spirit.<\/p>\n<p>In response to questions about their travel together, Trump downplayed it by noting that many people fly on his large plane. His support for Loomer has caused friction among some of his staunch supporters in Congress who are urging him to distance himself from her due to concerns over her divisive rhetoric. Senator Thom Tillis criticized Loomer as a harmful figure within the party.<\/p>\n<p>Trump claimed ignorance regarding some of Loomer&#8217;s more extreme conspiracy theories but acknowledged that she is passionate about the campaign and shares concerns over the state of the country. The Harris campaign responded sharply to Trump&#8217;s press conference remarks, accusing him of making incoherent statements while defending controversial figures like Loomer.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the event, Trump also labeled Harris as &#8220;Comrade Kamala,&#8221; criticizing liberal policies in California while discussing various topics including media coverage of debates and Jewish voters&#8217; support for Democrats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2340862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Laura-Loomer-Trump-2024-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[32319,6203,40708,32603,32076],"class_list":["post-2340861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-donald-trump","tag-gop","tag-laura-loomer","tag-political-news","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Laura-Loomer-Trump-2024-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}