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For years, MAGA activist and far-right internet personality Laura Loomer had built her career on extremist claims that Muslims were infiltrating the West and that Ukraine was a state controlled by Nazis to intentionally defraud American taxpayers through its war against Russia.
Now, the self-proclaimed “Islamophobe,” whose extremist politics got her banned from apps including Uber, Lyft, PayPal, and Twitter (before it was bought by Elon Musk), has seemingly reversed course overnight and become one of Ukraine’s most ardent supporters.
The political conversion has left many analysts perplexed, given that for the past five years the conspiracist has spent much of her time amplifying anti-Ukrainian disinformation, including claims that Zelenskyy was a “jihadi apologist” and a Nazi ruling over an “illegitimate” state.
Since Loomer’s recent reversal in thinking, she has traveled to Ukraine to interview Zelenskyy and has argued Ukraine deserves American support in its war effort after experiencing Russian bombardment firsthand.
While Loomer’s shift may seem of little significance to the average reader who is not plugged into online political discourse, her proximity to Trump’s inner circle has made her political transformation consequential for Ukraine.
According to reports, Loomer’s trip was received positively by the president, who gave Zelenskyy his regards while on the phone with Loomer and later reposted her interview on his platform, Truth Social, with the message: “Very Good!!!”
While there has been much speculation over what is behind Loomer’s immediate shift, one of her statements may offer a clearer read into her thinking. “One thing I really love about Ukraine is I haven’t seen a single Muslim here. It’s so refreshing. I am told there are Muslims in Ukraine but I notice they aren’t dominating public spaces the way they do in other parts of Europe.”
At the root of Loomer’s political thinking is a deep xenophobic contempt for Muslims and the broader Muslim world. Her beliefs have led her to celebrate the maiming and killing of Muslims both in America and abroad, including her open praise for a shooting that occurred at a mosque in San Diego.
Her ideological fixation has often overridden any political pragmatism, putting her at odds with the Trump administration that values its strategic partnerships in the region.
Loomer has consistently maligned America’s partners, including Türkiye and Qatar, as enemies of the United States and has repeatedly advanced unsubstantiated claims that both countries are funding a broader radical Islamist agenda.
Her rhetoric has put her at odds with an administration that has sought to strengthen diplomatic ties across the region.
Loomer's attacks have repeatedly focused on Türkiye, portraying the constitutionally secular NATO ally as an “Islamic Caliphate.” Throughout the early summer months of 2026, leading up to the historic NATO summit in Ankara, Loomer tweeted her disdain for Türkiye multiple times and aired her desire to see the country, which possesses NATO’s second-largest military, kicked out of the alliance.
Her position represented yet another contradiction between her ideological worldview and the administration’s strategic priorities, as Trump himself praised Türkiye as a friend, stating, “If the (summit) weren’t held in Turkey, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended.”
Perhaps this is why the administration has always kept Loomer in a type of political purgatory where she is informally acknowledged by the administration for her influence with MAGA hardliners but never fully embraced by the administration due to her political unpredictability and undermining of the administration’s broader diplomatic objectives.
“Loomer is trying to appeal to an arm of national security Republicans who are ardently anti-Russia while also giving red meat to her anti-Muslim base by trying to paint Ukraine as the ‘ideal society’ because it has no Muslims,” argues Dr. Idrees Ahmad, who is the director of journalism and senior lecturer at the University of Essex.
“The MAGA coalition is currently fracturing over the war in Iran,” continues Dr. Ahmad. “Most of the younger generation are opposed to this war. Within the growing MAGA split, she is trying to find a way for her base that is historically anti-Ukraine to find new alignments."
But Loomer’s delusions of a world rid of Muslims may ultimately become her own downfall. The American public’s disgust over images coming out of Gaza, coupled with a growing belief on both the left and right that the United States is fighting a war on Israel’s behalf, continues to outweigh the fearmongering that defined the post-9/11 political agenda.
The MAGA world that she was among the first to help cultivate is moving beyond the Islamophobic dogmas of the past, with many now on the right questioning a foreign policy agenda centered on unwavering support for Israel.
Her public outburst against countries like Türkiye and Qatar continues to be counterproductive to the Trump administration's partnerships.
One of the defining characteristics of President Donald Trump’s legacy has been his infusion of non-interventionist ideals into what once was a hawkish Republican Party.
Before Trump’s populist makeover of modern-day American conservatism, establishment Republicans had garnered a soured reputation amongst the American public for pursuing hawkish and interventionist foreign policy. It was former President Ronald Reagan who famously argued, “We cannot play innocents abroad in a world that’s not innocent.”
During Trump’s infamous run for president in 2016, his distinguishing characteristic was that he flouted the neoconservative norms on foreign policy, and in doing so, attracted a broad coalition of voters who had grown increasingly skeptical of America’s role as the global enforcer.
Since the war on Iran has begun, this broad umbrella of mavericks has seen its fracturing, with some of the MAGA movement's most ardent cheerleaders, including Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, and former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, falling out of favor with the president as they argued that Trump was turning his back on his promised “America First” agenda.
With this dissent within the movement, many MAGA supporters have followed suit and turned their back against one of the U.S.’ closest allies, Israel, a political uncoupling that would have been unfathomable during Trump’s first term.
According to a recent Pew Research poll, 57% of Republicans aged 18 to 49 view Israel unfavorably, compared to just 25% of those over 50.
Popular Gen-Z podcaster and prominent figure in the white nationalist movement Nick Fuentes argued that Trump had been “Captured by the Israel lobby,” insisting that Americans who still believe in the ideals of MAGA need to start envisioning an “America First” movement beyond the Israeli Lobby.
Such a changing of the tide has left pro-Israeli MAGA figures like Loomer on the outs and quickly scrambling for new partnerships.
Loomer’s twisted worldview has impeded her ability to understand that the very Ukrainian forces she praised during her time in Ukraine include Muslim volunteer factions, like the Sheikh Mansur Battalion, a group made up primarily of Chechen volunteers.
“From a military standpoint, Ukraine benefits from the long-standing combat experience and expertise offered by Chechen units,” argues Dr. Silvia Carenzi, who is an expert on armed Islamic groups with a particular focus on Syria.
“Volunteers also include those who had prior combat experience in the Chechen wars. The most prominent case is that of Abdul Hakim al-Shishani (Rustam Azhiev), who has long been involved in armed struggle against Russia in different contexts, and traveled from Syria to Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion of the country,” she added.
And it was Zelenskyy himself who participated in iftar dinners with Muslim soldiers and established a state-level tradition of honoring and showing respect for the Muslims fighting for Ukraine.
In 2023, Zelenskyy even thanked Muslim soldiers fighting for Ukraine, emphasizing that “every person” and “every community” are an integral part of an independent Ukraine, an antithetical viewpoint to Loomer's racist doctrines.
While attempting an alignment with the pro-Ukrainian crowd may bear fruit for Ukraine’s independence while Trump is in office, which could immediately be seen within days after meeting with Loomer, Zelenskyy held a successful meeting with Trump in the Oval Office where it was reported by the New York Times that the pair had “Better Chemistry.”
It is difficult to see Loomer's broader agenda making further waves within the America First movement unless she evolves her politics beyond a worldview centered primarily on hatred of Muslims and the Muslim world.
This is especially true as voters within her own movement have become some of the most outspoken critics of civilian suffering in the Middle East at the hands of Israel.
At the same time, her rhetoric continues to complicate the administration's diplomatic goals and strategic partnerships in the region.
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