'A plant!' Far-right turns on MAGA mega influencer after major ouster

A far-right influencer close to President Donald Trump faces suspicion from some of her fellow conspiracy theorists, who believe she may be "a plant" of drug companies, The Bulwark reported Monday evening.

Laura Loomer, a self-proclaimed "Proud Islamophobe" and 9/11 truther, has already claimed a number of scalps in the Trump administration by posting against various people she believes to be unqualified or Democratic sleepers, to the point that various administration officials are unleashing her on each other to advance their own careers and knife rivals.

But Loomer's goodwill among her fellow travelers may be at risk — and it comes from her social media activism, forcing out Dr. Vinay Prasad, a top FDA regulator, who she claimed had a voodoo doll of Trump.

"Several figures on the right noted that Loomer’s attacks on Prasad also came amid a high-profile struggle between Prasad and Sarepta, a Massachusetts-based drug manufacturer, over the company’s treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy," reported Will Sommer. "Prasad was a longstanding critic of the FDA’s decision to approve Sarepta’s drug, Elevidys. That clash hit a new level last month after three patients — two of whom were taking Elevidys, and one who was taking a related treatment — died of what appeared to be acute liver toxicity. The FDA put Elevidys’s clinical trials on hold."

At around the same time Prasad was forced out, the FDA reversed its position on Elevidys — prompting some far-right figures to speculate that may have been the real purpose of Loomer's attack.

"Kevin Bass, a prominent right-wing critic of the pharmaceutical industry, tweeted that Sarepta had 'used' Loomer as 'a plant to oust FDA official Vinay Prasad,'" noted the report. Meanwhile, "Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, a hero to skeptics of the medical establishment for his early COVID skepticism, highlighted Loomer’s attacks on Prasad and wrote that the pharmaceutical industry 'taught its critics a powerful lesson' by pushing him out."

All of this, the report noted, comes as Loomer sues HBO over a claim by Bill Maher that she and Trump may be romantically involved — something there is no public evidence for, but the lawsuit for which could expose her to discovery requests that detail exactly how her influence operation works.