In a striking about-face that has sent ripples through American political circles, far-right commentator and long-time Donald Trump ally Laura Loomer has publicly renounced her years of anti-Ukraine rhetoric, admitting that she was duped by Russian propaganda that shaped her earlier opposition to Kyiv. The polarizing figure, who built her reputation spreading conspiracy theories to a loyal online following, made the admission during an interview with The Associated Press from a Kyiv bomb shelter, as Russian ballistic missiles targeted the capital in an attack that forced the interview to be relocated mid-session.
Loomer’s journey to Ukraine, which included a trip to the eastern front lines, a sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and meetings with top government and religious leaders, marks one of the most high-profile shifts in the American conservative movement’s stance on the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. After spending years repeating Russian talking points that downplayed Moscow’s aggression and pushed false claims about Ukraine being overrun by neo-Nazis, Loomer now says her on-the-ground observations have completely upended her views.
The commentator traces her past misinformation to a shift in her media consumption after being banned from major American social media platforms. Banned from mainstream apps, she turned to Telegram, a platform where Russian state-aligned media and propaganda are widely circulated. That shift, she says, allowed Russian operatives to capitalize on her anger over the 2020 U.S. presidential election — an election she still falsely claims was stolen from Trump — to indoctrinate her with anti-Ukraine falsehoods. Her change of heart unfolded gradually, she adds, as she watched prominent conservative podcasters, including Tucker Carlson, adopt anti-Trump rhetoric that she discovered was being amplified by Russian sources to divide American conservatives.
Ukrainian officials have embraced Loomer’s visit, seeing it as a unique opportunity to win over hearts and minds in the conservative wing of U.S. politics ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Washington next week. “It takes courage to come to Ukraine and not be deterred by Russian propaganda or air raid sirens,” Zelenskyy’s office wrote in a social media post welcoming Loomer. In addition to her meeting with Zelenskyy, Loomer toured the Dormition Cathedral of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a historic monastic complex targeted in a Russian attack just last month. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna noted Loomer’s outsized influence in U.S. conservative circles, saying she hopes the commentator’s first-hand observations will shift American public opinion ahead of the high-stakes Washington meeting. “I do really hope and I believe that her visit will have a huge impact on relations with the U.S. administration,” Berezhna told the AP.
Loomer has remained a close and influential informal advisor to Trump despite holding no official role in his campaign or orbit. She says she spoke with Trump by phone immediately after her meeting with Zelenskyy, and Trump has already publicly embraced her new stance, sharing video of her conversation with the Ukrainian leader on his social media platform with the comment “Very good!!!” Loomer occasionally travels with Trump on the 2024 campaign trail, and last year she convinced him to purge multiple members of his National Security Council staff after she raised questions about their loyalty to him during an Oval Office meeting. She expects to meet with Trump personally upon her return to the U.S. from Ukraine.
The commentator’s reversal has already stirred mixed reactions: while Ukrainian leaders have welcomed the shift, it has sparked confusion and suspicion among some of her former allies in the American right. Loomer has repeatedly pushed back against claims that Ukraine is funding her trip, noting that she risked her life traveling to a war zone to see the conflict first-hand. “If it’s fake, why did I risk my life? I’m in a bomb shelter right now. I barely slept this week,” she said.
Even as she has reversed her stance on Ukraine, Loomer’s long history of bigotry and conspiracy mongering remains unchanged. Days into her trip, she posted a bigoted comment on social media saying, “One thing I really love about Ukraine is I haven’t seen a single Muslim here. It’s so refreshing.”
Despite her own history spreading misinformation, Loomer now argues that the spread of Russian propaganda through rogue online platforms and independent podcasters represents a critical national security threat to the U.S. She says the “information war” waged by Moscow is potentially more destructive than any conventional military conflict the U.S. could face, and has called on a future Trump administration to take the threat of foreign influence operations far more seriously than current U.S. leaders have. “They have been able to warp people’s minds to the point where people aren’t even capable of analyzing a subject with common sense anymore because they want to depend on these personalities to give them the opinion that they think they should have,” she said of the podcasters who spread Russian talking points. She added that she is already seeing MAGA movement supporters change their minds after her visit, saying she has received hundreds of messages from followers saying she opened their eyes to Russian disinformation.
Loomer’s turnaround comes as the U.S. Congress debates new sanctions against Russia and just days before Zelenskyy is set to meet with Trump in the Oval Office, a meeting Loomer says her visit has already helped set up for success for Ukraine. “Going into this meeting next week at the Oval Office is looking pretty good,” she said.