President Trump on Thursday said he “sometimes” listens to the recommendations of far-right activist Laura Loomer, even as he denied she was responsible for the ouster of multiple national security aides.
Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One, where he was asked about Loomer one day after meeting with her in the Oval Office. At that meeting, Loomer highlighted individuals on the National Security Council (NSC) she felt were insufficiently loyal to Trump’s agenda.
Multiple members of the NSC were fired after the Oval Office sit-down with Loomer.
“Laura Loomer is a great patriot. She’s a very strong person,” Trump told reporters.
“She makes recommendations on things and people, and sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody,” he added. “I listen to everybody, and then I make a decision.”
Trump said Loomer “recommended some people for jobs,” but would not elaborate. Asked if Loomer had anything to do with the ouster of multiple national security staffers, Trump said no.
“We’re always going to let go of people,” the president said. “People we don’t like or people that take advantage of or people that may have loyalties to someone else.”
Trump’s comments were a notable acknowledgement of the influence of a controversial individual, who has been condemned for spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric and conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The president met with Loomer in the Oval Office on Wednesday, where they were joined by other senior officials, including chief of staff Susie Wiles and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
A source familiar with the firings told Kellie Meyer of NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, that three senior officials and at least two junior officials were let go.
The three senior officials were Brian Walsh, senior director of intelligence; Thomas Boodry, senior director of legislative affairs; and David Geuth, senior director of technology and national security.
Loomer confirmed the meeting with Trump in a post on the social platform X earlier Thursday.
“It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings,” Loomer posted. “I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security.”
Waltz has been at the center of the controversy around a Signal app group chat he created in which administration officials discussed plans for a military strike against the Houthis. Waltz inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to the chat.
Waltz was traveling with Trump on the plane to Florida on Thursday.
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