JD Vance claimed it's unimportant that Donald Trump has brought a “pro-white nationalism” activist into his inner circle. That's ... not persuasive.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-connection-laura-loomer-real-campaign-issue-rcna171258
It was against this backdrop that Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, appeared on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” and host Kristen Welker asked the senator for his reaction to Loomer’s extremist rhetoric. While the Ohio Republican conceded that he doesn’t “agree with” some of the activist’s comments, he added:
I think what Laura said about Kamala Harris is not what we should be focused on. We should be focused on the policy and on the issues.
The problem, of course, is that as Election Day 2024 nears, it’s hardly unreasonable to see a presidential candidate’s team as a meaningful issue.
As a Politico report summarized, “Who has the would-be president’s ear and what they say into it matters — especially when, like Loomer, (A) that person has a history of virulent statements about race, religion and immigration, (B) has given voice to baseless conspiracy theories and (C) when the would-be president in question has been hesitant to disavow her remarks, as Trump has.”
I’m reminded of something Ezra Klein wrote in early 2016, before Trump had even secured the Republican Party’s nomination for the first time. Still at Vox at the time, Ezra argued, in reference to Trump, “
His tendency to solicit, repeat, and retweet self-serving falsehoods served up by sycophants and hangers-on should be taken seriously. Among the most important tasks the president has is knowing what to believe, whom to listen to, which facts to trust, and which theories to explore.
“Trump’s terrible judgment in this regard is one of the many reasons he’s not qualified for the office. Trump’s record here also undermines the strongest argument for his candidacy: that his showman’s persona is just a front, and at heart he’s a calm, thoughtful, coolheaded businessman who will surround himself with the best people and govern in a pragmatic, results-oriented fashion.”.......
It is, in other words, a little late for Vance to pretend Loomer’s associations with Trump are unimportant.
NBC News, meanwhile, reported that some of Trump’s allies are worried that his Loomer ties “could cost him votes in key battleground states.” The report quoted an ally of the Republican candidate saying, “She has to go. Laura Loomer cannot stay. She just can’t. She is unapologetic.”
The news prompted The Atlantic’s David Frum to write online,
“If a candidate for president surrounds himself with lunatics, crooks, and agents of hostile foreign powers, the patriotic response is not: ‘Oh no, he might cost himself the election!’ The patriotic response is: ‘He damn well should lose the election.’”
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