Donald Trump’s new travel mate Laura Loomer is turning heads not just with his opposition, but within the Republican Party too.

Loomer, a firebrand right-wing activist who has been banned from almost every major social media platform, was spotted close to Trump’s side before and after this week’s debate, much to the dismay of his enemies and allies alike.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat’s leader in the House, said that Trump bringing Loomer to the New York 9/11 memorial was “shocking and offensive”.

“Donald Trump is a conspiracy theory-peddling racial arsonist and pathological liar,” he said.

“The fact that on September 11, this sacred day, he would bring a 9/11 conspiracy theorist to participate in events during this solemn commemoration should shock the conscience of all decent Americans.”

Loomer shared a video in 2023 that claimed the September 11 terrorist attack in New York was “an inside job”.

Trump, the Republican’s presidential candidate, previously ordered his staff to give Loomer an official role in his campaign, but abandoned the idea after pushback from within the party.

Loomer told the Associated Press that she did not work for Trump’s campaign, but was “invited as a guest”.

 War of words

When Loomer was floated for that official role, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, a Republican congresswoman and ardent Trump supporter, warned the Trump campaign against hiring a “known liar”.

Although Taylor-Greene has her own tenuous grip on reality, having previously floated the idea that powerful Jewish people are building space lasers to start wildfires, she again criticised Loomer publicly on X, resulting in a war of words between the former friends.

“This is appalling and extremely racist,” Taylor-Greene said, regarding Loomer’s comment that Kamala Harris would make the White House smell like curry.

“It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump.”

Taylor Greene previously donated and campaigned for Loomer during a 2018 run for Congress. Photo: Getty

Loomer responded by threatening to air a host of dirty laundry about the congresswoman and claimed that Taylor-Greene had cheated on her husband while in office and that she had committed insider trading.

Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican senator, joined Taylor-Greene in urging Trump to cut Loomer loose, labelling her “toxic”, resulting in Loomer accusing Graham of being a closeted gay man, a common rumour about the senator.

Pet theory

Loomer rose to stardom in the MAGAverse by vocally supporting Trump and attempting to ambush his political opponents, declaring herself an investigative journalist.

It isn’t the first time she has been to war with other conservatives either: Earlier this year, she confronted presidential candidate Ron De Santis, the governor of Florida, and accused him of betraying Trump and using his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis for personal gain.

Senior Republicans now fear that Loomer, who has declared herself “pro-white nationalism”, is influencing Trump, according to Semafor.

They blamed Loomer’s influence on the bizarre claim made by Trump during Wednesday’s debate that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets.

In the lead-up to the debate, Loomer reshared a host of memes and posts about Haitians eating pets and Trump saving cats from Democrats.