Laura Loomer arrives with Donald Trump at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday for the presidential debate.

Chris Szagola/AP

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Chris Szagola/AP

This story first appeared in NPR’s live blog of the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump presidential debate. Watch the night unfold.

When former President Donald Trump traveled to Philadelphia for his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, one of the guests on his plane was far-right social media influencer Laura Loomer, who once described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “pro-white nationalist.”

Loomer, a former Republican candidate for Congress, is known for promoting conspiracy theories and anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views. Though she was previously banned by some social media platforms, she was allowed back on Twitter — now known as X — under Elon Musk’s ownership and has amassed more than a million followers.

Trump has publicly praised her and shared her posts, and this isn’t the first time he’s done so. invited her on his planeAccording to media reports, he wanted to give her a role in his campaign last year, but The New York Times reported The plan failed after immediate criticism from some of his key supporters, who felt she would be a burden.

Instead, Loomer spreads a stream of misleading content to her followers, including false claims that President Biden almost died This summer, Harris is not black and conspiracy theories about school shootings are emerging.

She told The Washington Post in may“I’m happy to spend all my time helping Trump, because if Trump doesn’t come back, I have nothing.”