National Review has already ably covered the improbable victory of conspiracy theorist — mass-shooting truther, migrant-death wisher, and Muslim-excluding-Uber seeker — Laura Loomer in the Republican primary for Florida’s 21st congressional district. Even though she is likely to lose, this will surely not be the last we hear of or from this noxious personality.
It was hardly the first. Indeed, in a recent issue of National Review, I noted in a story about One America News Network the curiosity of Loomer’s appearance on one of its shows, being interviewed by OANN correspondent Chanel Rion. I asserted that this interview appeared on the news show Wall to Wall, hosted by Greta Wall. This was an error, as Wall noted, and I regret making it. Though I am no fan of One America News, there is plenty on the network for which one would be on solid factual ground to criticize.
Such as the Loomer interview itself, which I did not make up. You can find it here, or watch it below:
It would probably be an overestimation of the reach of One America News to attribute Loomer’s primary victory to this interview. But it remains to the network’s discredit that it would give her a platform for self-promotion. For despite OANN’s somewhat limited audience, one of its self-proclaimed watchers is President Trump, a figure who at the moment wields a great deal of influence over the Republican Party. Trump now hopes Loomer wins her race. Again, it is unlikely that the network can take credit for Trump’s Loomer support. But its treatment of Loomer is another reason for viewers — including the president — not to tune in.