Laura Loomer’s Ukraine Revolution Sparks MAGA Civil War

Over the years, Laura Loomer’s position in Ukraine was clear. It was “a country full of Nazis” led by “a Jihadi apologist.” Loomerconspiracy theorist and Trump fan, called American politicians who supported Ukraine in its war against Russia “traitors.”

But Loomer, who traveled to Ukraine last week, has changed his tone. He posted a seemingly endless amount of information from the country, including a floor interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and photos of himself eating McDonald’s surrounded by bombed-out buildings in the capital, Kyiv.

Earlier this month, hours after news broke of Senator Lindsey Graham’s death, Loomer was the first to raise a conspiracy theory. Russia was responsible. “Did Russia Just Kill a US Senator?” Loomer wrote on X.

Loomer is on one side MAGA Civil War HIM that has divided Trump supporters over the past year. It’s not about Russia, either: While figures like right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene have split with President Donald Trump over his failure to deliver on campaign promises, the war with Iran, and the government’s close relationship with the Israeli government, Loomer has remained loyal.

He has also spent the last year fighting some of Trump’s critics online. Following Owens’ trip to Russia in May, where the artist praised the country, Loomer said Owens was trying to “destroy MAGA.” (Loomer did not respond to a request for comment. Owens tells WIRED in a statement: “Laura Loomer is mentally unstable and has acted against her will to double-check her opinion. We wish her the best, but don’t entertain her delusions in the press or otherwise.”)

Loomer says that his change in Ukraine was motivated by the realization that he was “published by the Russian press.” Trump has a slightly different answer: “I think they support what I support,” Trump said he told reporters in the White House on Friday when asked about Loomer’s visit and other changes in the party in Ukraine. “I know what MAGA wants better than anyone else.”

Trump has changed his stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict several times over the past year. Last September, he surprised his NATO allies when he said that Ukraine could win back land Russia has occupied since the beginning of the conflict, the land that it previously claimed should be Ukraine’s back to Russia.

But a month later, after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump way back.

In recent months, Trump has continued to criticize Zelenskyy, mockingly saying “PT Barnum” in social media turned to Ukraine for his expertise in dealing with drone attacks later six members of the US was killed in an Iranian invasion of Kuwait. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy visited the Oval Office as the House of Representatives voted to impose tougher sanctions on Russia.

“What’s driving Loomer’s politics is his unwavering adoration of Trump, not his staunch beliefs,” Jared Holt, senior researcher at Open Measures, tells WIRED. “While he maintains his views, including anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant views, he has repeatedly shown a willingness to change positions if he believes it will help the president.

What Loomer’s surprise trip to Ukraine also shows is that MAGA’s civil war is not playing out in the halls of Congress but on social media feeds, where some of Trump’s biggest supporters have shown a willingness to do and say anything to preserve their standing with the MAGA base.