She was on a plane with him the day of the debate and on the ground with him the morning after, and some Republicans fear she had something to do with what happened in between.

Laura Loomer, the right-wing agitator known for stoking Donald Trump’s most incendiary instincts, has been a regular on the former president’s radar. After a debate in which Trump shouted about false viral rumors about pet-eating Haitians in an Ohio town, her potential influence is getting more attention from both parties.

A person close to Trump’s campaign said they were “100%” concerned that she would exacerbate Trump’s weaknesses.

“Regardless of the restrictions the Trump campaign has placed on her, I don’t think it’s going to work,” the person said.

Loomer has long been a presence in Trump’s orbit, much to the chagrin of some of his allies inside and outside the campaign. Last year, the New York Times reported that Trump had directed his staff to give her a formal campaign role — but he dropped the idea after fierce opposition from Republicans.

Her recurring appearances with Trump around the debate have reopened some of those old wounds. If a common complaint among Republicans after Trump’s appearance was that he was “too online,” the appearance of Loomer — who once protested her Twitter ban by handcuffing herself to her New York office building while wearing a yellow Jewish star, comparing her treatment to the Holocaust — has thrown it into sharp relief.

“Trump lost the debate because of his performance or lack thereof,” said Dennis Lennox, a Republican consultant. “That’s what happens when you just play it safe, live in the Fox News X bubble, and rely on Matt Gaetz, let alone Laura Loomer.”

Loomer did not respond to a text message about her trip with Trump. On Wednesday afternoon, after Harris’ campaign shared a critical CNN segment about her that cited recent reports disparaging the nominee’s Indian heritage, Loomer wrote that the vice president was “furious” about her investigative journalism.

“I don’t care if the media finds my factual reporting offensive,” Loomer wrote. “I find their weaponization of government and policies that have destroyed our country offensive!”