Sam Stein writes:

Over the past week,a small number of elected Republicans (along with a few venerable conservative voices) have aired concerns about Donald Trump allowing right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer to accompany him on the campaign trail.

It’s not so much that Loomer says offensive things, they argue. It’s that they fear the influence that her conspiracy-addled mind might have on the former president.

“All of this would be ignorable,” the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote of Loomer amplifying a suggestion that 9/11 was an inside job and her racist tweet about Kamala Harris making the White House smell of curry, “except that others close to Mr. Trump say he is listening to Ms. Loomer’s advice.”

One can understand the fear. But if the presence of Laura Loomer by Trump’s side is what makes you worry that Trump will get dragged into the dark depths of conspiracy land, well, you’re way too late.

The former president has been a prolific conspiracy theorist for decades. [Continue reading…]