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We Got This Covered
We Got This Covered
Fred Onyango

Laura Loomer serves Donald Trump a sloppy demand and America watches her collapse under the weight of reality

Laura Loomer sparked controversy yet again this week when she suggested that while Donald Trump was meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan, Trump should negotiate the deportation of Hasan Piker. The progressive streamer quickly reminded her that birthright citizenship is still the law of the land.

Loomer was probably trolling. But to understand her particular brand of trolling, you first have to understand the self-described “investigative journalist.” She makes no pretense about her far-right views and attraction to conspiracy theories that are sometimes so outlandish that even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is often the one trying to pull her back to reality. Greene also warns how dangerous Loomer’s closeness to Trump and her general sway with the MAGA movement could be for the long-term well-being of not just their movement but the entire country.

That makes Piker a natural adversary. Piker made his name in the streaming world. A space dominated by entertainment streamers such as Kai Cenat and DDG — Piker found a unique niche, discussing politics with streaming’s young audience of mostly Gen Z fans. Piker became immediately prominent for criticizing the then-Joe Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war.

Piker hasn’t let up — nowadays, though, all the pressure has landed on Trump’s lap and Piker has widened the scope of his criticism into imperialism. So you can easily see how he wouldn’t get along with Loomer. But Piker has lately been getting more attention from the wider press than Loomer — mostly because his opposition doesn’t involve outright racist statements, like when NPR reported Loomer alleged that Kamala Harris was making the White House smell like curry.

Trump just so happened to be meeting the Turkish president this past week. The meeting at the Oval Office was awkward for its own reasons. President Erdoğan was the latest person to sit through the seeming humiliation ritual Trump puts on foreign leaders in front of the press. This time Trump was talking about how he was rigged out of the 2020 election for the umpteenth time and pointed at Erdoğan, saying, “He knows about rigged elections better than anybody.” Credible organizations like Complexity Science Hub have cast doubt on Erdoğan’s electoral win in the Turkish 2023 general elections — so some observers read Trump’s remarks as a light jab at his Turkish counterpart.

Loomer, who is known to have Trump’s ear, thought this was the perfect time to ask for the president to also squeeze in a “negotiation” for Piker’s permanent deportation to Turkey. One issue with that though — although Piker’s parents are Turkish, the streamer was born in New Jersey and was quick to correct Loomer’s troll with his own Saw-inspired troll.

It’s a better time than any to remember that when Trump got back into power he tried to effectively end birthright citizenship. He signed an executive order that ostensibly tried to unilaterally end the 14th Amendment. The executive order was almost immediately ruled unconstitutional in the courts, however.

So Loomer might just be joking for now, but it’s also probable she wishes she were being dead serious.

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