Trump Adviser Laura Loomer Faces Awkward Confrontation Over Deleted Anti-Indian Tweets
Right-wing conspiracy theorist and Donald Trump adviser Laura Loomer experienced an uncomfortable moment during her trip to New Delhi when a journalist read back her deleted anti-Indian tweets at a public event. The incident occurred at the India Today Conclave on Saturday, where Loomer was pressed on her history of disparaging remarks about India and its people.
Archived Tweets Surface During Conference
Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai presented a collection of tweets that Loomer had posted before her visit to India, which she subsequently deleted. Despite her attempts to remove the controversial content, others had archived the posts, allowing Sardesai to confront her directly during the conference.
Loomer attempted to deflect criticism by claiming she had just spoken to former President Trump and reading a message she attributed to him. "I love India. I love Modi and I love the Indian people," the purported message stated. However, this did little to address the substance of the accusations against her.
Controversial Statements on Islam and India
The hosts of the event challenged Loomer on her past statements about Islam, which is practiced by approximately 15 percent of India's population, or roughly 205 million people. Loomer doubled down on her controversial views, stating that "Islam is a cancer on the world" and that she does not "believe that Islamophobia is real."
She went further, asserting that "it should be illegal in the United States for Muslims to hold office" and claiming that Islam "explicitly calls for the killing of non-Muslims." Loomer insisted that "everybody who is not a Muslim should really honestly be fearful of this ideology."
Specific Anti-Indian Remarks Revealed
Sardesai read aloud particularly inflammatory tweets from 2024 in which Loomer said the White House would "smell like curry" if then-Vice President Kamala Harris became president. She had also claimed that the United States was built by "white Europeans, not third-world invaders from India."
When initially asked about her disparaging remarks about India, Loomer offered a partial apology, saying "I shouldn't have said some of the things that I said ... and I apologize if my remarks offended people." However, she maintained her criticism of the H-1B visa program, which many Indian nationals use to enter the U.S., arguing that her views were intended to protect American interests.
Journalist's Strong Rebuttal
Sardesai accused Loomer of being "brazenly racist and Islamophobic," stating that her comments represented "anti-Indianism, worse still Islamophobia, and even worse racism." He emphasized that such views had "no place in today's world."
Loomer attempted to reframe her comments about Kamala Harris as "pro-Indian," claiming they were actually a critique of Harris allegedly downplaying her Indian heritage during the election campaign in favor of emphasizing her Black heritage to win voters.
Continued Controversial Posting
Following the conference, Loomer showed no signs of moderating her views. On Saturday afternoon, she shared a video allegedly showing Muslims in India surrounding a Sikh restaurant and demanding they sell halal food. In her accompanying post, she wrote: "Islam has no place in the West. Are you ok with this @sardesairajdeep? Should Muslims be allowed to terrorize Sikhs who refuse to sell halal food? Are you going to call the Sikhs Islamophobic and racist too?"
Broader Context of Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
Loomer is part of a larger trend among MAGA-aligned figures who have increasingly attacked Islam. This escalation in rhetoric appears to have coincided with Trump's military actions against Iran. Shortly after the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran, a series of violent attacks occurred in Texas, Virginia, and Michigan that the FBI is investigating as potentially motivated by the conflict.
The incident with Loomer follows similar controversies involving other Trump allies. Earlier in the week, Senator Tommy Tuberville was accused of Islamophobia after sharing an image of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani breaking his Ramadan fast alongside an image of the 9/11 terror attacks with the caption "the enemy is inside the gates."
The Independent has reached out to Laura Loomer for additional comment on these matters.
