Laura Loomer, a close ally of President-elect Trump, railed against another Trump ally, Elon Musk, calling him a “stage-five clinger.”
Loomer joined former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon for his “War Room” podcast on Monday, where she weighed in on the ongoing battle with Musk.
“I think that a lot of people have a hard time speaking truth to power and a lot of people are afraid of taking on billionaires,” Loomer said. “He is the richest man in the world and so he kind of orbits President Trump.”
“As I called him the other day, I said he’s a stage-five clinger,” she continued.
Musk, who has been appointed to co-lead Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” (DOGE) has become part of the president-elect’s close circle and entangled in political drama ahead of Inauguration Day.
Musk and fellow tech entrepreneur and DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy were criticized by some of Trump’s supporters after signaling their support for the H-1B work visa, a key immigration program designed to attract international talent.
Loomer and other hardline immigration Republicans sharply criticized Musk on X, the social media platform he owns.
Musk faced accusations of censorship after several right-wing X accounts, including Loomer’s, lost access to premium features including verification and monetization, NBC News reported.
Loomer said on Bannon’s podcast that many people close to Trump are realizing that they can’t be critical of Musk, partially because they depend on the platform’s monetization from their posts.
“They realize that their input to President Trump is now being overshadowed,” Loomer said. “Overshadowed by the richest man in the world who has these ulterior motives.”
Loomer questioned if Musk really supports Trump’s “America-first agenda” or if he is working to promote something else.
In terms of her verification status on X, Loomer said she believes Musk doesn’t like how close she is to Trump and how she publicly challenged him.
“It doesn’t matter what side of the political aisle a billionaire is on,” she said. “I don’t think that it’s acceptable for billionaires to have this much power and this much access.”
Loomer said that it was unfortunate that things have escalated the way they have, but is hopeful she will be reinstated and re-monetized on X.
The Hill has reached out to X for comment.
