Opinion: Trump ally goes full-bigot with homophobic attack on Buttigieg

It seems Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is required to have at least one despicable moment per day, and Thursday was no different.
Staunch Trump ally Laura Loomer, an unhinged conspiracy theorist and social media bomb thrower closely linked to the former president, went after U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in supremely homophobic fashion, saying he’s not “a real father” because he and his husband adopted twins.
“Homosexual men cannot give birth,” Loomer wrote. “Gay men can’t get pregnant or make breast milk. You aren’t even a real father.”
She also wrote: “You incubated a baby in biological woman’s womb and pretended to breast feed with plastic nipples in a hospital bed like a psychopath.”
Buttigieg and his husband Chasten adopted twins in 2021. They did not use a surrogate, and the breast feeding bit is a lie based on a doctored and thoroughly debunked photo, the kind of right-wing garbage Loomer is known to toss about like a rabid raccoon.
Loomer’s Thursday rant was in response to a social media post from Buttigieg reacting to Trump recently calling himself “the father of IVF,” an absurd notion given that Trump brought down Roe v. Wade and put in vitro fertilization in the crosshairs of pro-life zealots.
Chasten Buttigieg responded to Loomer’s hateful post, writing: “Is this who we want in the White House influencing policy on childcare or education? … She is obviously against adoption and LGBTQ rights. Let them keep doubling down on this type of weird bigotry while we focus on knocking on doors, making calls, and bringing people together.”
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Because everyone in Trump’s orbit is the worst version of themselves, that prompted Loomer to respond with more hate and lies. She claimed she doesn’t care that the couple are gay, then lied again: “You’re bad because you push fake science like the claim that men can breast feed. You’re a freak and you have no place in the White House or near it.”
Trump is a big fan of Loomer, who has called herself “a proud Islamophobe” and promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories. Last year, Trump called her “very special” and said, “I appreciate your support and everybody appreciates your support.”
He reportedly wanted her working on his reelection campaign, and she was recently on Trump’s plane when he flew to the presidential debate against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. She later accompanied Trump to a 9/11 memorial. 
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Trump likes her because she flatters him, and she likes him because he raises her profile and lends indirect credibility to her hateful nonsense.
I’d call on the Trump campaign to denounce Loomer’s homophobic rant, but that would be as productive as spitting into a fan. At best, they would say she’s not affiliated with the campaign, which while technically true is utterly meaningless since she’s a person Trump is more than happy to pal around with.
There’s more than enough that comes out of Trump’s slurry mouth to judge him on. But the election draws nearer, it’s worth also judging him on the company he keeps.
Loomer is a vile bigot, and she has now attacked a prominent gay couple with homophobic lies, calling them psychopaths and freaks and questioning whether they can call themselves fathers.
Loomer is also a friend of Donald Trump. That should matter.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk