Far-right activist Laura Loomer has been accused by her MAGA critics of being funded by Big Pharma.
The accusations come after several federal workers targeted by Loomer have been fired, such as the NSA general counsel and a Biden alumna appointed to West Point, The Bulwark noted.
Another, Dr. Vinay Prasad, left his role at the top of a treatment-approval division at the Food and Drug Administration after Loomer accused him of disloyalty to President Donald Trump. Prasad said he resigned in order not to become a “distraction.”
Right-wing pharma critic Kevin Bass wrote on X on July 29 that “FDA is once again a paid arm of pharma. You can thank @LauraLoomer, Bob Goldberg, @AllysiaFinley, and the folks at @WSJ. Pharma paid them to coordinate and pull off the coup.”
“This is a blatant lie. I don’t work for Big Pharma. I’m a loyalty enforcer,” Loomer said in response on X. “I bring to light what others want hidden. Big Pharma didn’t pay me to do anything. I have been independently conducting my own vetting operation of Trump admin officials. I simply report the facts.”
A number of high-profile people within the MAGA movement noted that Loomer’s targeting of Prasad came as he was in a battle with the drug manufacturer Sarepta because of its treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Prasad had long criticised the FDA for approving the drug made by Sarepta, called Elevidys.
Loomer was quick to deny the allegations in a statement to The Independent, saying, “I do not work for Big Pharma. I work in support of President Trump on the outside of the administration where I identify and expose disloyal officials in the administration.”
“Vinay Prasad has a history of calling himself a progressive leftist, and he has stated publicly that he hates President Trump, and that he supports Democrat policy issues,” Loomer added. “The MAGA base didn't vote for radical Democrats to serve in the Trump administration. I provided evidence of all of Vinay Prasad's anti-Trump comments. He and his supporters are just angry they got caught. Loyalty matters, and so does vetting.”
Last month, three patients died of what seemed to be acute liver toxicity. Two were taking Elevidys, and the third was undergoing a related treatment. The FDA took action and placed Elevidys’s clinical trials on hold.
However, on Monday, just before Prasad’s resignation, the FDA backtracked and announced that patients able to walk could get the drug, noting that one of the deaths had been unrelated.
Loomer’s rightwing critics argued that the confrontation between the drug company and Prasad was connected to the posts shared by Loomer.
Bass wrote on X on July 31 that Sarepta “used Laura Loomer as a plant to oust FDA official Vinay Prasad.”
Alex Berenson, formerly of The New York Times, gained notoriety among skeptics of the medical establishment for his early commentary on Covid. He wrote that the pharmaceutical industry “taught its critics a powerful lesson” after Prasad was dismissed.
Similarly, conservative activist Ned Ryun asked on X if Loomer was “completely nuts” and suggested that she had taken a payment from the drug company.
“The fact of the matter is you got funded by Sarepta Therapeutics to take Vinay out; probably thru a middle man for deniability but still pharma money funding it all,” said Ryun. “The reason I find this and you so loathsome is that this behavior is the antithesis of the MAGA and MAHA movements.”
FDA chief Marty Makary said Monday that he would like Prasad to return to the agency, prompting Loomer to ask, “Why would a Trump hater and devout progressive leftist be welcomed back into the admin by his own choice?”
“Why do these people on the Left who has made their way into the admin think their decisions get to override President Trump’s and @SusieWiles?” she added in a lengthy tweet on Tuesday. “Why do they think they even have a choice? It’s called the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. Not the PRASAD administration.”
“You’re such a moron,” Ryun responded. “Dear God it is hard to quantify what a corrupt, unethical liar you are. You dredged up old tweets. You gonna do that for RFK or JD or anyone else? Or just who your pharma funds dictate?”
This prompted Loomer to directly address Ryun, saying in part, “I don’t work for Big Pharma. I’ll be honest, I want to work for President Trump. That’s who I want to work for. I don’t know who is paying you to attack me nonstop because you’re a grown married man with 4 kids and this is like your 27th tweet about me in 72 hours, but it’s called LOYALTY.”
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