President Trump fired the head of the NSA — not because of a cyber attack, but because conservative activist Laura Loomer said so. How did she become so influential? This episode was produced by Gabrielle Berbey and Victoria Chamberlin, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact checked by Amanda Lewellyn, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Far-right activist Laura Loomer. Photo by Jacob M. Langston for The Washington Post via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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When President Trump fired Timothy Hawk, the head of the National Security Administration and U.S. Cyber Command last week, he didn't say why. But Laura Loomer, who'd met with Trump a day earlier, took credit. She said on Twitter that Hawk was disloyal to President Trump. Laura Loomer, chaos agent, activist, proud Islamophobe, her words, influencer, trickster, trespasser.
I'm just really confused. You're on private property, so you're trespassing.
I'm really confused. Nancy said everyone was welcome here. Did you know who Nancy Pelosi is? Yes, I do.
She has Trump's ear, maybe even his respect. You don't want to be loomered. If you're loomered, you're in deep trouble. And she's just getting started in Washington. That's ahead on Today Explained.
Megan Rapinoe here. This week on A Touch More, we are launching our much-anticipated book club, and we're doing it with Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle, who will introduce their upcoming book, We Can Do Hard Things, Answers to Life's 20 Questions. Plus, we've got some fun and important updates from The W and the NWSL, and of course, we've got a new Are You a Megan or Are You a Sue?
Check out the latest episode of A Touch More wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
It's Today Explained. I'm Noelle King. And some of the best reporting I've seen on Laura Loomer comes from The Wall Street Journal's Vera Bergen-Gruen. Vera is a national security reporter who also covered the online right for a time. And so she knows her Laura Loomer lore.
Laura Loomer is a far-right Internet personality. She kind of defies characterization, to be honest.
I am the most censored person in this country, hands down, if not the most censored woman in the world.
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