Friday, September 13, 2024
BY MATT BERG & CROOKED MEDIA
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Donald Trump’s embrace of a far-right provocateur has sparked a civil war among MAGAland loyalists, in a dramatic finale to his very bad week.
- You know a conversation’s gone off the rails when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), one of the most batshit MAGA bomb-throwers in Congress, starts sounding like the adult in the room. In this case, Greene went after 31-year-old far-right political agitator Laura Loomer for saying that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins, “the White House will smell like curry.” Greene, who has her own long history of making deeply offensive comments, blasted Loomer’s “appalling and extremely racist” remarks. Loomer fired back, accusing Greene of sleeping with a “Zangief cosplayer,” among other things that we would feel gross even reprinting. And pretty soon, the conflagration grew, drawing in others around Trump, who are now fighting hammer-and-tongs to push Loomer out of the MAGA God-King’s inner circle.
- Trump’s embrace of Loomer has sparked this uproar. That’s because Loomer, a twice-failed congressional candidate, brings a truly astonishing amount of racist, crazy-pants baggage with her — even by Trump standards. Loomer has described herself as a “proud islamophobe” who is “pro-white nationalism.” She has called Harris “a drug using prostitute,” and claimed the veep hasn’t had biological children because “she’s had so many abortions that she damaged her uterus.” Loomer was paid last week to eat dog food on camera (“It actually tastes good, I’m not gonna lie!”), and has, of course, enthusiastically pushed the phony conspiracy theory about Haitian migrants eating pets in Ohio. (Side note: Irony is fucking dead.)
- The Loomer controversy exploded after she joined Trump at a 9/11 commemoration on Thursday, causing her past claims that the attack was an “inside job” to resurface. Lawmakers were furious, describing her presence as disrespectful to first-responders and those who lost loved ones on that day. Loomer is one of the few people that everyone in politics seems to hate. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), another MAGA loyalist, characterized her history as “really toxic,” and her comments on Harris “abhorrent,” telling HuffPost: “I don’t know how this all happened, but, no, I don’t think it’s helpful. I don’t think it’s helpful at all.”
- People like Loomer, who Trump keeps surrounding himself with, “demonize and dehumanize decent people,” Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), who defeated Loomer in a House race in 2020, told What A Day in a statement, calling her comments “dangerous, irresponsible, and hurtful.” Trump, meanwhile, brushed aside questions from reporters about Loomer on Friday, calling her “a free spirit” who “speaks very positively of the campaign.” Later, he said he disagrees with her comments.
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While some struggle to push Loomer out of Trump’s orbit, others seem afraid to speak out for fear of antagonizing Trump.
- “We’re staying out of this,” a Trump campaign adviser told The Bulwark. A former senior Trump official told NBC News that “the people that have the authority to stop it are hanging on to their jobs … So are you going to pick that fight with him?”
- Loomer doesn’t seem to have an official job within the Trump campaign, aside from being his cheerleader from hell. He rewards unwavering loyalty with political presents, and has plans to restock a second administration with people who won’t criticize or cross him. Those in the MAGA world are aware of this. But even for some of them, bringing Loomer on board is a step too far. “Regardless of any guardrails the Trump campaign has put on her, I don’t think it’s working,” a person close to the Trump campaign told Semafor.
The Loomer fiasco comes at the end of an otherwise dismal week for Trump, including a rambling debate performance, blowback from racist remarks about Haitian migrants “eating cats” and polls showing Harris with a narrow lead. How — and we cannot stress this enough — is this race still so close???
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The bogus, racist conspiracy theory that Republicans are pushing about migrants supposedly eating people’s pets continues to have a real-life impact on Haitians and the community of Springfield, Ohio.
Two elementary schools in Springfield were closed on Friday due to a threat sent via email, following a bomb threat at the city hall the previous day. The city has been the center of MAGA vitriol after Trump and Vance promoted baseless claims about Haitian migrants eating pets there, which has been denounced by state and town officials alike, and which Springfield’s mayor said he believes are directly connected to the threats. Even the source of the rumor admitted to having no first-hand knowledge of the claim.
Harassment against migrants in the community has gotten so bad that Haitian families are now keeping their kids home from school and reporting that their cars have been vandalized, according to a report in the Haitian Times, a online newspaper based in Brooknlyn serving the Haitian diaspora. “I’m going to have to move because this area is no longer good for me,” one woman told the outlet. “I can’t even leave my house to go to Walmart. I’m anxious and scared.”
Trump, of course, is only doubling down. During a press conference on Friday, he vowed to “have the largest deportation in the history of our country … and we're going to start with Springfield and Aurora.” He dismissed a question about the threats the city has faced since he shouted the false claim during Tuesday’s debate. |
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Thousands of Boeing workers began striking on Friday after rejecting a contract offer from the company, with 96 percent of the union voting in favor of the move — well above the two-thirds threshold needed. It could be a costly rebellion for the company, which is trying to ramp up airplane production after a safety crisis. Union strong! Just try screwing on those fuselage panels without ’em!
Elon Musk threw hundreds of thousands of dollars into a local Texas political campaign in an unsuccessful attempt to oust a George Soros-backed prosecutor, the Wall Street Journal reports. Musk used a group called Saving Austin, a group primarily funded by him, to push out more than $650,000 worth of ads attacking the Democratic candidate.
About two-thirds of Americans support putting term limits on Supreme Court justices, according to a new poll. At the same time, only about 30 percent of Americans say the court should be expanded, a proposal by some Democratic lawmakers and activists to dilute the conservative majority’s power. And everyone agrees, I presume, that Clarence Thomas has been there for too damn long.
Colleges around the country are taking administrative steps to prevent a repeat of Gaza-related protests that roiled the nation last spring, banning “expressive activity” gatherings over a certain size and requiring people wearing masks to be willing to provide identification. And… do you hear that? It’s silence from right-wingers, who only care about free speech on campus when it affects a movement they care about!
The Boar’s Head deli meat plant in Virginia, linked to a deadly listeria outbreak earlier this year, will indefinitely shut down, the company announced on Friday. Liverwurst processing was identified as the source of contamination, and the product won’t be sold anymore.
Pop star Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty on Friday to a noncriminal traffic violation following his arrest for drunk driving in the Hamptons two months ago. You could say he was in sync with the judge (I’m really, really sorry again.) |
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An endangered pygmy hippo named Moo Deng has become the internet’s favorite celebrity over the past few days. I mean, how can you not smile and feel warm inside when you see its adorably cartoonish face and learn that its name translates to “bouncy pig”? Where can I get one?
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