Who is Laura Loomer? What's up with her influence on former president Donald Trump? And why has her appearance changed so drastically?
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00:00Who is Laura Loomer? What's up with her influence on former President Donald Trump? And why
00:05has her appearance changed so drastically?
00:09Donald Trump caused quite a stir when he brought incendiary right-wing activist Laura Loomer
00:14along with him to visit firefighters on September 11th, 2024. Loomer's presence was puzzling
00:20because she was a staunch Islamophobe who previously claimed 9-11 was an inside job,
00:25or CNN. In fact, Loomer was almost one of the controversial people included on Trump's
00:31staff.
00:32A fantastic woman, a true patriot, Laura Loomer."
00:36In April 2023, The New York Times reported that he wanted Loomer to join his upcoming
00:41campaign team, but she was ultimately left off the list. At the time, she told the outlet,
00:46"[The president knows I have always been a Trump loyalist and that I'm committed to helping
00:50him win re-election in 2024."
00:53When people noticed Loomer accompanying Trump during Patriot Day, they could not help but
00:58notice how much plastic surgery had changed her appearance. A viral tweet made the rounds
01:03on X, formerly Twitter, that had users aghast. One user posting a snap of the right-wing
01:08pundit alongside a 2023 photo, which had been heavily photoshopped, wrote,
01:13"'Laura Loomer's evolution from an average-looking human to jigsaw has to be one of the craziest
01:19things I've ever seen.'"
01:21The photo causing the most buzz may have been altered, but people have been commenting on
01:25Loomer's botched cosmetic procedures for years. In fact, she has been quite open in the past
01:30about going under the knife. Loomer's change in appearance has been staggering. Unlike
01:35others who have been silent about whether or not they had work done, Loomer was forthright
01:40about getting an assist from a surgeon. In July 2017, she took to Instagram to talk about
01:45a rhinoplasty procedure. At the time, she wrote,
01:48"...I'm so excited for my nose job. How could anyone say no to this? It's life-changing."
01:53Loomer's surgeon was Dr. Joseph Pober, who also had a strong affinity for Donald Trump.
01:58In a joint interview with Loomer for BuzzFeed News in July 2017, Pober said,
02:03"...I see no reason not to be the pro-Trump plastic surgeon. I think having a beautiful
02:08nose for whatever reason is a fantastic thing."
02:11Loomer had come under fire as rumors swirled that she paid for the procedure by using money
02:16from a crowdfunded campaign that was meant for another Trumpster who needed surgery after
02:20being attacked. She denied those claims. That same month, Pober had shared photos of Loomer's
02:25lip injections to his Instagram page.
02:28Being open about going under the knife backfired on Loomer, as she was roasted by anti-Trumpsters
02:33as she continued to receive cosmetic procedures over the years. In 2020, one ex-user wrote,
02:39"...Laura Loomer's face is what happens when you pick your plastic surgeon based on their
02:43political affiliation."
02:44In 2021, another tweeted,
02:47"...Anti-Islam conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer flaunts new face, plastic surgeries
02:52in horrifying Mar-a-Lago photo op."
02:54Days before meeting up with Donald Trump as he greeted firefighters on September 11th,
02:59Laura Loomer was at the center of controversy for a racist tweet she wrote about Trump's
03:03political opponent. Laura took to Ex on September 8th, writing,
03:07"...If Kamala Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry and White House speeches
03:11will be facilitated via a call center."
03:14Understandably, this brought a deluge of online backlash, even from fellow Trump supporter
03:20Marjorie Taylor Greene, who responded,
03:22"...This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans
03:27or MAGA. This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever."
03:30"...Her rhetoric and her tone does not match the base, does not match MAGA, does not match
03:37most Republicans I know."
03:39Naturally, Loomer felt compelled to respond, as she fired back. Along with a video of Greene,
03:44she tweeted,
03:45"...MTG is two-faced. Now she's irrelevant and she's lashing out because she is jealous."
03:50Seeing the right-wingers duke it out online delighted many ex-users, several of whom used
03:55it as an opportunity to take jabs at post-surgery Loomer. While posting side-by-side snaps of
04:00the two, including the photoshopped post-surgery Loomer snap, one wrote,
04:04Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Loomer fighting was not on my card for 2024. Who do you think
04:10will win?
04:11Another tweet referred to them as, quote,
04:12"...our modern-day Romy and Michelle."