A White House aide had to intervene to stop far-right activist Laura Loomer from speaking to Donald Trump during the president’s visit to the Kennedy Center last month to watch a performance of Les Misérables.
Loomer was climbing a flight of stairs to the VIP section where Trump and wife Melania were set to watch the show, but she was stopped at the top. Loomer, the aide, and a Kennedy Center employee then argued for several minutes before a “furious” Loomer gave up and retreated, The New York Times reported.
The incident came just two months after Loomer met with Trump in the Oval Office, where she presented research on multiple National Security Council figures, including Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong, claiming they might not be loyal to the president and other potential red flags.
Trump then turned to his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and demanded, “I want all of them fired,” the Times reported.
Trump went on to fire six National Security Council staffers, including General Timothy Haugh, the director of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, and his deputy, Wendy Noble. Wong, Waltz’s right-hand man, ultimately survived the purge sparked by Loomer.
The Kennedy Center incident was detailed in a lengthy profile on Loomer, charting her rise from fringe conspiracy theorist and self-described “proud Islamophobe” to an influential figure with the ear of the president.
In addition to the six national security employees, Trump also withdrew his nomination of Janette Nesheiwat, who is Waltz’s sister-in-law, for surgeon general after Loomer described her as “not ideologically aligned” with the president on social media.
Trump has downplayed how much sway Loomer’s input had in these decisions. Loomer herself told the paper she’s not even sure how many “scalps” she’s managed to claim with her interventions.
“I don’t even know,” she said. “I really enjoy and take great pleasure in humiliating people who suck at their job.”
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing lately for the provocateur, who has more than 1.7 million followers on X.
In May, Trump personally called Loomer from Air Force One while traveling to Saudi Arabia to give her a dressing-down after she spoke out against the president accepting a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar, sources told the Times.
“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits,” Loomer wrote on X.
The day after the call from Trump, Loomer posted a lengthy apology on social media admitting she could have “probably just had a private conversation about the plane instead.”
Loomer and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
