Trump's embrace of a vile extremist troll is dividing the GOP

Donald Trump’s catastrophic performance in Tuesday night’s presidential debate has Republican leaders sounding the alarm over the state of the former president’s campaign. Now Trump’s most high-profile allies and some opponents are placing blame on an unexpected source: MAGA clown and social media troll Laura Loomer.

The far-right conservative activist has been an increasingly visible presence on the campaign trail over the past month. Recent photos captured Loomer standing next to Trump on multiple occasions, a level of access that puts her even closer to Trump’s ear than new campaign chairman Corey Lewandowski. Loomer also played a key role in prepping Trump for his disastrous debate—including the viral moment when Trump falsely claimed Haitian immigrants are eating Ohioans’ pets.

Trump holds Loomer so close that he invited her to join him at this week’s Sept. 11 commemoration in New York City—despite the fact that Loomer is a strident 9/11 “truther” who falsely claims the attack was an inside job. Far from driving him to the political center, one month’s worth of terrible swing state polls has now pushed Trump to the outer fringes of his MAGA movement. That’s proving too much even for the GOP nominee’s friends.