This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 20 episode of “All In with Chris Hayes.”
President Donald Trump’s relationship with far-right influencer Laura Loomer appears to be going strong. During Trump’s presidential campaign, his friendship with the self-described Islamophobe came under scrutiny after she traveled on his private plane, accompanying the then-candidate to his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. That same week, Loomer joined Trump at a 9/11 memorial service in New York, despite the fact that she has publicly claimed that the 2001 attack was an “inside job.”
In recent weeks, Loomer grew increasingly upset that the U.S. was allowing into the country a very small number of severely injured Palestinian children from Gaza.
Trump was even reportedly thinking about hiring Loomer for his campaign, until Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia intervened because she thought Loomer was too toxic. Greene has called Loomer a “mentally unstable and a documented liar.”
Loomer has no official job in the White House but, from her private perch, she — for some reason — has great sway over Trump’s decisions. She has reportedly influenced who gets hired and fired in top administration posts.
In April, several National Security Council officials were fired by Trump after the far-right influencer “expressed dissatisfaction with some officials on his national security team, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.” Shortly thereafter, national security adviser Mike Waltz, who had reportedly clashed with Loomer, was also ousted from his role.
But Loomer’s latest move is one of the most monstrous things I have ever seen. In recent weeks, Loomer grew increasingly upset that the U.S. was allowing into the country a very small number of severely injured Palestinian children from Gaza: kids missing limbs, with severe burns, ones in dire need of medical care. On social media, Loomer called them a “national security threat” and “Islamic invaders.”
On Friday night, Loomer said she spoke directly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to relay those concerns. The very next day, the State Department announced it was pausing all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza.
On Sunday, Rubio defended his decision. After CBS News’ Margaret Brennan asked the secretary how children seeking medical aid could pose a threat to U.S. national security, Rubio shot back, “First of all, it’s not just kids. It’s a bunch of adults that are accompanying them. Second, we had outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it, and so we’re going to re-evaluate how those visas are being granted.” Rubio claimed “numerous congressional offices” had presented “evidence” that some of the organizations linked to helping those children acquire visas “have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas.” However, so far, none of that “evidence” has been released. Andrew Miller, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs in the Biden administration, called Loomer’s reported intervention a “disgrace” and said Trump and Rubio “should be ashamed of their behavior.” Miller added, “This woman is a bigot. She is someone who has a visceral hatred of people who are different. That is about as un-American as anything I can think of.”
Chris Hayes hosts “All In with Chris Hayes” at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday through Friday on MS NOW. He is the editor-at-large at The Nation. A former fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, Hayes was a Bernard Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation. His latest book is “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource” (Penguin Press).
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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