Theo Von vs. Laura Loomer for the Soul of the MAGA Movement

Comedian and podcaster Theo Von recently showed a kind of courage that I hope and pray will be the defining characteristic of the rising generation of public figures: the courage of living in solidarity with the vulnerable. 

In a short, simple, unpretentious video, he spoke out on what he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “genocide” in Gaza. Watch Theo’s short message now for yourself here.

I believe that Americans, and particularly young Americans, now face a choice: Will they join Theo in forming a future defined by humanity, charity, and solidarity with the vulnerable—or will they choose the dark, tribalistic road of influencers like Laura Loomer?

For those unfamiliar, Laura Loomer has made herself a lightning rod of criticism and used the noise she fuels as proof that she belongs to the brash and brave world of the Trump movement. The problem is that, underneath the piles of political hay she makes, she has smuggled into the American political Right of today the same inhumane cynicism that characterized the foreign policy establishment before the Trump movement’s reforming spirit arrived on the scene.

Loomer is just like the old political figures that President Donald Trump has discredited, but she puts a younger spin on it. She uses megaphones, gets herself arrested, and generally acts as spirited and rebellious as any anti-establishment activist.  Loomer is just like the old political figures that President Donald Trump has discredited, but she puts a younger spin on it.Tweet This

But the substance of what she brings to the table is the same as if she were the worst gray-suited, balding advisor to George W. Bush or Barack Obama: She wants to deploy American military and industrial power to cynically use foreign peoples like pawns for the benefit of global ruling classes. And right now, that means justifying any and all actions against the people of Gaza by a U.S.-funded Israel.

Loomer’s biggest tell is how she has no sympathy for what the Trump movement has accomplished—a massive expansion of voter support, precisely because Trump and others like him have now shown themselves willing to sacrifice donor support in order to honestly accomplish what their constituents want. 

“We are in the most consequential election of our lifetime and instead of helping Trump, people want to cry about Palestinians,” Loomer wrote in the lead-up to the 2024 election. “I don’t give a f*** about Gaza or anyone who lives there. …If these people are so deserving of your humanity, why doesn’t anyone want them? Answer: They are unworthy.”

Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Trump spoke compassionately to Palestinian Christians and numerous other Middle Eastern Americans who called out to him in crowds about Israel’s aggression against civilians in Gaza. He made clear to them that he wanted an end to the bloodshed, and—no thanks to the poisonous rhetoric of Loomer—they turned out for him in record numbers on Election Day.

And, of course, Loomer learned nothing. Just this week, she was smearing human rights advocates on social media and shouting that Israel has not gone “far enough” in its brutal attacks on civilians. And like any of the old-guard of Washington, DC, Loomer never lets a crisis go to waste. 

After a madman threw explosives at pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, Loomer used the horrible act of violence to smear all the millions of ordinary people who express compassion for the children of Gaza. The attacker in Boulder was “a supporter of the Palestinian movement,” she wrote, and so – like every other supporter of the Palestinian people, “obviously” a “terrorist.”

And then Loomer went full Evil Empire, arguing against the fundamental rights of free speech and assembly by saying pro-Palestian rallies should not be allowed, calling them “terrorist recruitment rallies.”

But I don’t mean just to single out Loomer. She’s far from the only one. Thanks, in part, to her running cover for them, numerous political figures and influencers fall under the Loomer category that I believe Americans must reject if they don’t come around.

Podcaster Tim Pool is one. He quickly dismissed Von’s plea for humanity last week, of course; but even more significantly, he has not been so quick to say a word against another Loomer-type who called last week for a nuclear bomb to be dropped on Gaza.

Speaking against that insane proposal wouldn’t matter so much if it weren’t for the fact that it came from a Loomer-type who happens to be a sitting congressman and a Republican: Rep. Randy Fine of Florida. “We nuked the Japanese twice in order to get unconditional surrender,” Fine said during a Fox News interview. “That needs to be the same here.”

I could go on and on, but, from Theo’s side of things, it’s not hard to spot the many other Loomers who have insinuated themselves into the Trump movement. They’re making themselves more known—and more repulsive—with every passing day during the unspeakable campaign against our brothers and sisters in Gaza.

And in a way, I’m glad of that—glad that the Loomers on the Right seem to be just as blind to what their hideous rhetoric does to their own political futures as they are to the humanity of their fellow human beings in the Holy Land.

And their blindness also makes them helplessly unable to see this: that in making his statement about the suffering people of Gaza, Theo not only aligned himself with Palestinians but with the best of the Trump movement—and with President Donald Trump himself. Trump, after all, recently told Netanyahu to his face, “You got to be good to Gaza,” pressuring him to open humanitarian corridors and allow relief to reach the people the prime minister’s regime is deliberately starving there.

But taking a side wouldn’t mean much if it weren’t for there being a wrong side that can now be expected to come after Theo. And while he aligned himself with the best of the Trump movement, he also made new enemies in the worst people who have managed until now to at least superficially attach themselves to that movement.

That’s one of the major reasons I’m grateful to Theo. By standing up for the rescue of vulnerable Palestinians, he also stood up for the salvation of American public life from the corrupt elements that threaten to suppress its best impulses.