Donald Trump has defended his ties with Laura Loomer, who has drawn fire from some of his Republican allies for embracing conspiracy theories and making racist comments, including against Kamala Harris.
Laura has been a supporter of mine. Just like a lot of people are supporters, and she's been a supporter of mine. She speaks very positively of the campaign," Trump, the former president, said on Friday at a news conference in Southern California.
He was responding to a question from a reporter about his allies expressing concern about his close relationship with Loomer in recent days.
I don't control Laura. Laura she's a free spirit. Well, I don't know. I mean, look, I can't tell Laura what to do, Trump said.
She is a strong person, she's got strong opinions, and I don't know what she said, but that's not up to me, he added.
Several of Loomer's posts on social media this week came under fire, including one where she nodded to a conspiracy theory about the 9/11 attacks.
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