CNN
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Laura Loomer can get President Donald Trump on the phone, but she can’t get a seat in his briefing room.
As the White House opens its doors to a new class of media personalities – online commentators, podcasters, web video hosts and partisan influencers – one of the most prominent figures in the pro-Trump digital ecosystem remains on the outside looking in. Loomer, a far-right provocateur with a loyal online following, has a direct line to the president and a proven record of influencing his personnel decisions. Yet her requests for press credentials from Trump’s White House have gone unanswered.
Loomer has a theory why.
“I do think there’s a fear that I may ask questions about the loyalties of people in the White House,” Loomer told CNN, “and they fear me having a national and global microphone to ask those questions.”
She wants to know why Hunter Biden, the son of the former president, still had Secret Service protection after Trump took office (he revoked it in March, days after Loomer posted pictures that allegedly showed a detail joining Biden in South Africa). Why the White House legal team isn’t pushing to disqualify judges she sees as conflicted. And most of all, why certain staffers with what she claims are questionable allegiances have been hired in the first place.
“I would hold people accountable,” Loomer said. “Not to be malicious toward anyone in the administration but to support the America First agenda.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Loomer’s skepticism of the White House – at least on some topics – is rare in right-wing media. Many of her peers use their platforms to amplify Trump’s actions, echo administration talking points or attack outside critics.
But Loomer, one of Trump’s most enduring and unflinching supporters, often directs her fire inward – targeting perceived traitors inside Trump’s government and finding new avenues to maximize pain on his enemies.
The influence of her work came into sharp focus in recent days with the ousting of national security adviser Michael Waltz. For weeks, Loomer had publicly criticized Waltz over his personnel decisions, accusing the former Florida congressman of staffing national security roles with officials whose political backgrounds didn’t align with the MAGA movement.
Donald Trump removes Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor, surprising Republicans and Democrats
Last month, after a phone call with Loomer and an Oval Office meeting, Trump dismissed several top national security aides that she flagged for removal, and on Thursday he reassigned Waltz to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.
Amid the shakeup, she posted on X, “Loomered” – a term she and, at times, Trump have used to describe those who draw her ire and soon find their jobs or reputations in jeopardy.
“If there’s anything that’s going to torpedo Donald Trump and his agenda after he survived indictments and mug shots and multiple assassination attempts, it’s going to be the vetting crisis and the unforced errors of his administration,” Loomer said. “Contrary to what’s been said, he doesn’t hire the best people. That’s why it’s so important that there’s people to help support the president, because nobody is perfect.”
A self-described investigative journalist, Loomer spends her days digging into the backgrounds of administration officials and sharing her findings with her 1.7 million followers on X and through a twice-weekly broadcast on Rumble, a video platform favored on the alt-right.
On Waltz, Loomer said the outcome might have been less disruptive – and cheaper for taxpayers – if she could have publicly questioned these hires during a White House briefing instead of resorting to private appeals to Trump.
“Show me any other independent new media reporter that’s having more of an impact on the Trump administration than me,” she said. “You’re going to have these bloggers with 5,000 followers online and say they’re more qualified than me? The president of the United States is calling me and asking me for private meetings, but I don’t meet the standards of the esteemed press team? It’s a joke.”
Trump officials, though, have reason to keep Loomer at arm’s length.
Her past inflammatory rhetoric and promotion of conspiracy theories have drawn rebukes even from some Republicans. Her proximity to Trump – which previously included flights on his private plane and regular appearances at his resort clubs – was limited during the campaign last year after she appeared alongside him at an event memorializing September 11, 2001. Democrats pounced, noting Loomer had previously posted a video claiming that the attack on the World Trade Center towers was an “inside job.” (Loomer, in a phone interview with CNN last year, said, “I’ve never denied the fact that Islamic terrorists carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”)
CNN reported last month that before her Oval Office meeting, senior advisers had taken steps to thwart her repeated attempts to gain access to the West Wing. According to Loomer, directives from Trump to hire her on four separate occasions never materialized in a position.
Still, Loomer saw a new opening earlier this year when press secretary Karoline Leavitt invited “new media” to apply for access to the White House. The arrangement included a rotating seat in the press room and last week, Leavitt began holding additional briefings exclusively for online creators and commentators.
“What she’s done to bring in new voices has been welcome and refreshing,” said Sean Spicer, Trump’s first press secretary. Now the host of an online show, Spicer had a turn in the new media chair.
He suggested Loomer’s exclusion could come down to how the White House is defining the term “new media.” While Loomer is a self-described journalist, the administration may view her more as an influencer, Spicer said.
“All of those details matter,” he said.
Loomer’s confrontational style would be out of step with the tone of those so far granted access. Some have offered glowing praise of the administration – “congratulations on 100 incredible days,” one began – while others lauded Leavitt as “intelligent,” “articulate,” and “crushing it.” Arynne Wexler, a conservative influencer, thanked Trump for deporting undocumented migrants because “my Uber drivers finally speak English again.” A few used the platform to tee up attacks on the mainstream media. Conservative podcaster Tim Pool asked Leavitt to respond to the “unprofessional behavior” of the traditional reporters while “Ruthless Podcast” host John Ashbrook asked Leavitt if the press was “out of touch with Americans.”
Criticism of these performances have come even from within conservative media. Brad Polumbo, co-founder of BASEDPolitics, wrote in the Washington Examiner that the new media briefings were “turning into sycophantic chat sessions.” Geoffrey Ingersoll, the former top editor of the The Daily Caller, wrote on X that he was “starting to get highly annoyed with all the glazing” from the new media invitees.
“I want the (right wing) media to hold Trump accountable from the right,” Ingersoll said.
Loomer says that’s her mission. “And I think I do a great job.”
