logo
episode-header-image
Sep 9
21m 49s

Laura Loomer's Rise To The Top

Crooked Media
About this episode

Say what you will about President Donald Trump’s first administration, but at least some of the people given top jobs had a morsel of experience doing those jobs. Now, the Trump administration is chock full of the weirdest people the MAGA world has to offer, united by their personal allegiance to one man – Donald J. Trump. From Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whose qualifications are “co-hosted the weekend edition of Fox and Friends” to Paul Ingrassia, the former podcaster nominated to run the Office of Special Counsel, who thinks the descendents of slaves should pay the descendants of slave-OWNERS reparations….to Laura Loomer, a Jewish, white nationalist, 9/11 truther, who made headlines in 2018 when she chained herself to the doors of Twitter’s office to protest getting banned from the platform.It’s a cavalcade of the worst people ever to be given a high-speed internet connection. Especially when they now have real power. So we spoke to Will Sommer, senior reporter at The Bulwark, to help us understand how the craziest people in America rose to the very top of the federal government.

And in headlines: Trump goes to the Museum of the Bible to talk about how much he loves religion, Pete Hegseth hypes up the troops in Puerto Rico, and Democrats release a very NSFW birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein, allegedly signed by Trump himself.

Show Notes:


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Up next
Today
Trump's War And Peace Plans
In September, after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum you may not have heard very much about – an action that could put your right to hold your political perspectives at risk. National Security Presidential M ... Show More
26m 53s
Yesterday
Will SCOTUS Greenlight Trump’s Worst Ideas?
The new Supreme Court term started on Monday, and the justices have a lot on their plates. They’ll be deciding a host of big issues in the coming months – including if Trump can fire board members of the Federal Reserve and whether his tariff policy is overstepping presidential a ... Show More
25m 18s
Oct 7
Fed Versus Blue
For the past four months, President Donald Trump has been sending the National Guard into cities that protest his policies. First, it was Los Angeles. Then, it was Washington D.C. And now, it’s Portland, Oregon and Chicago. An Oregon federal judge blocked Trump’s deployment of th ... Show More
27m 33s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 8
When the National Guard Comes to Town
One month after sending the National Guard into Washington, D.C. saying they would fight crime there, President Trump is so pleased with the results that he is discussing how to put federal troops onto the streets of cities across the country — from Chicago to New Orleans. It’s a ... Show More
36m 48s
Jul 28
Mayor Karen Bass on Marines in Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles has declared itself a sanctuary city, where local authorities do not share information with federal immigration enforcement. But L.A.—where nearly forty per cent of residents are foreign-born—became ground zero for controversial arrests and deportations by ... Show More
28m 46s
Jun 2025
Federal Judge Rules Trump Illegally Federalized National Guard
President Trump unlawfully federalized thousands of members of California’s National Guard and must return control of the troops to the state, a federal judge ruled. The ruling is a significant win for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier t ... Show More
53m 9s
Oct 6
Meet the Press NOW — October 6
The Trump administration’s bid to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago and Portland faces legal challenges. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) discusses the state's lawsuits against the White House. President Trump takes questions from reporters in the Oval Office on day ... Show More
56m 31s
Aug 26
First They Came for John Bolton
Trump's FBI raids the home of John Bolton—the former first-term Trump advisor turned vocal critic—as the President escalates his use of state power to target and threaten anyone who's criticized him, most recently Chris Christie, Wes Moore, ABC News, and NBC News. Jon, Lovett, an ... Show More
1h 33m
Aug 26
Trump moves to expand military's role in law enforcement
President Trump moves to expand the military’s role in law enforcement around the nation, and suggests Chicago could be next. Then, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker vows to resist Trump’s plans for troops on the ground, calling them “illegal, unconstitutional, and unamerican.” Plus, ... Show More
42m 21s
Aug 12
Trump Sends the National Guard Into Washington, D.C.
President Trump said on Monday that he would take control of the Washington, D.C., police department and send hundreds of National Guard troops to the city.Devlin Barrett, who covers the F.B.I. for The New York Times, explains why the president says this is necessary and how it f ... Show More
23m 48s
Sep 9
"A Violent, Sudden Murder" On The Charlotte Light Rail. Could It Have Been Prevented?
Video has surfaced from the lethal attack that took place back in August on the blue line in Charlotte, N.C. Commuter Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who fled war in her country in hopes of a new life in the United States, saw her life ended in a random act of violence from k ... Show More
33m 15s
Jan 2025
How Trump’s Federal-Aid Fiasco Is Testing the Separation of Power
On Tuesday, the Trump Administration sent out a memo attempting to put a blanket pause on most federal funding, sowing confusion about financing for  student loans, SNAP benefits, nonprofits, and more. The next day, after a backlash, the Administration rescinded the memo, while m ... Show More
29m 34s