Trump ally Laura Loomer publicly insulted prominent Black women. Where are the GOP calls for civility?

Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton was listening to a sketch by comedienne Zainab Johnson when Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon’s name came up. Johnson mentioned how Nixon, who is vying to become the Sunshine State’s first African American U.S. senator, had been attacked by a right-wing influencer named Laura Loomer.

McClinton is closely following Nixon’s race and immediately wondered: “Who’s Laura Loomer? Who is she?”

McClinton found out soon enough.

Loomer, reportedly a close ally of President Donald Trump, has been publicly going after Black female legislators and other prominent women — including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — calling them “ghetto” and the B-word.

The MAGA influencer zeroed in on Nixon last month after she won Florida’s Democratic Senate primary and accused her of using Ebonics. She also likened the former grassroots organizer to a dog, saying, “Maybe I need to bark at you and tug your leash and then you’ll finally understand.”

“Unfortunately, attacking Black women is nothing new.”

Loomer has also posted about Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and LaMonica McIver, and former Rep. Cori Bush, saying they’re “entitled,” “destructive,” and “race-obsessed.”

I don’t know, Laura — you might want to look in the mirror to see who’s really “entitled,” “destructive,” and “race-obsessed.”

She made me mad.

A lot of people may have brushed it all off, but as you can tell, I haven’t.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has condemned Loomer. Where are the other Republicans who pride themselves on being civil and having family values? Every member of the GOP should speak out against what’s been happening.

“We need the president to condemn these comments,” McClinton told me, adding that U.S. Senate leadership should also act. “Unfortunately, attacking Black women is nothing new.”

She added, “We have been fighting with racism and misogyny for as long as we have been a democratic republic.”

I won’t repeat all of the racist things Loomer has uttered on her podcast or posted online lately about Black female politicos. If you’re curious, you can go on social media and see for yourself.

While you’re there, you can check out her Islamophobic posts.

I thought long and hard about ignoring what’s been happening and writing off Loomer as just another right-wing extremist.

But she has traveled with the president numerous times, visited Mar-a-Lago, and reportedly has Trump’s ear. Her platform is huge — nearly two million followers on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. And she doesn’t hesitate to use it.

That’s political currency — not just in Washington. In this era of the attention economy, the most strident voices get traction.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was spot on when he posted a statement directed at Loomer saying, “You attack and insult Black women because you believe peddling racism is good for your clicks and your business model.”

It felt good to see Moore, who is a possible presidential contender, defend Black lawmakers against Loomer’s looney tunes. Same with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who called her a “stone-cold racist.”

Being a Black woman in traditionally white spaces can be challenging. Nixon appeared near tears during a recent appearance on Don Lemon’s YouTube show and said she was tired. “It’s become so normalized for people to continue to attack us,” she said.

Timothy N. Welbeck, director of Temple University’s Center for Anti-Racism, said he wasn’t surprised there hasn’t been a more fervent pushback against Loomer.

In this era of the attention economy, the most strident voices get traction.

“Things like woke and DEI were politically expedient slurs to convey anti-Black sentiments,” he told me. “And now people like Laura Loomer are forgoing the veiled statements.”

It has felt like open season on Black women ever since Trump’s return to office.

We have been disproportionately impacted by widespread cuts to the federal workforce. Trump weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice to try to prosecute Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and New York Attorney General Leticia James.

Black women are survivors, though. Ever since we were dragged through the Middle Passage and forced into bondage, we have managed to make a way out of no way, as my mother used to say.

This is our heritage.

This is our legacy.

In the spirit of the late Shirley Chisholm, the first Black female member of Congress, and all of the other ancestors, we will get through the Trump era, too.

And we’ll be inspired by the passion of Nixon, the style and commitment of Pressley, and the sheer brilliance of Justice Jackson.

That’s what we do.

As Moore pointed out, “We will never let anyone steal our joy or let those that don’t matter too much, matter too much.”

We’ve come too far.