This article is based on reporting by Al Jazeera staff and the Associated Press.

Loomer, who has no official role but is known to have direct access to Trump, has been a vocal opponent of US aid to Ukraine in the past.

Published On 24 Jul 202624 Jul 2026

Laura Loomer, a far-right American activist and close associate of President Donald Trump, met with and interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ending years of criticism of Ukraine.

Loomer said she interviewed Zelenskyy on Thursday for her Rumble show, after telling her nearly 2 million X followers that she had been wrong to spread Russian propaganda.

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The right-wing commentator said she does not care if Republicans who oppose Ukraine disavow her. “They will come to see how evil Russia is as they continue funding Iran with weapons to murder US soldiers as they call for President Trump to be assassinated,” she wrote in a social media post.

Loomer had long opposed US support for Kyiv, once calling Ukraine corrupt and full of “Nazi apologists”, a charge that Russia invoked to justify its 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

She has also called Zelenskyy a “Jihadi apologist” for meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy’s office hailed the visit, stating that it was “really important that [Loomer] is in Ukraine and sees things with her own eyes as they are”.

Loomer calls herself a “proud Islamophobe”, frequently attacking Islam and Muslim figures on her social media platforms. She is also an ardent supporter of Israel and Trump’s deportation policies.

Although she holds no official position in the Trump administration, US media report that Loomer enjoys a close personal relationship with the president and obtained Pentagon press credentials last year.

She also claimed a role in the October 2025 detention of British journalist Sami Hamdi, a critic of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, whose US visa was revoked.

“You’re lucky his only fate is being arrested and deported,” she wrote.

After two gunmen killed three people at a mosque in San Diego in May, Loomer doubled down on her anti-Muslim rhetoric, saying that immigration authorities should investigate the targeted Islamic centre.

She also called for the deportation of all Muslims from the US, describing them as an “invasive species”.

In April 2026, she said she reported to the State Department an Iranian national for allegedly being the niece of the late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, leading to the revocation of the woman’s US residency.

The meeting between Zelenskyy and Loomer could carry important implications for the US administration’s relationship with Kyiv.

Trump and segments of his base have long expressed scepticism of the US support for Ukraine, especially during the tenure of President Joe Biden.

The current US administration has pressed for a resolution to the war. Trump had promised to end the conflict on the first day of his presidency, but his diplomatic efforts, including several calls and meetings with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have yet to achieve a breakthrough.

The meeting marks a potential thaw in the stance of some Trump allies toward Ukraine. Loomer's concession that she was wrong about Russian propaganda could sway her audience. However, her past inflammatory remarks about Islam and Ukraine remain controversial. The Ukrainian government seems eager to engage with any influential American figures amid the ongoing war. This visit underscores the intricate interplay between US domestic politics and foreign policy toward Ukraine.