Laura Loomer, the conservative activist and self-proclaimed “Trump girl,” ran into Donald Trump Jr at CPAC on February 28. The two talked about the “bias” they both believe exists on social media: you can watch video of their encounter, and Loomer’s reaction to Trump Jr, here:
Trump Jr agreed with Loomer that social media bias is a real problem. He said that while it had been a problem for him, it was an even bigger issue of “little accounts” that don’t have the power and name-recognition that his account does. In his case, Trump Jr said, “The second I called them out, that stopped for me. The problem is, it’s not stopping for little accounts that don’t have my soapbox. So we gotta push back.”
Loomer replied, “We gotta stop the bias, and hopefully your father will put a lot of pressure on these social media companies so Jack Dorsey –”
“It’s time,” Trump Jr replied, grinning.
Loomer handed him one of her red MAGA-style hats, emblazoned with the phrase #STOPTHEBIAS; she praised him for being “such an outspoken critic of social media bias.” Trump Jr noted that “everyone thought I was crazy” when he first got involved in the issue. You can see more photos of Trump Jr with Laura Loomer below.
Both Trump Jr & Loomer Have Made ‘Social Media Bias’ a Key Issue
The alleged bias against conservatives, on social media sites like Twitter, is an issue which both Loomer and Trump Jr have been very vocal about, in their very different styles. Loomer has been banned from Twitter and has made a point of repeatedly confronting the social media company, notably by handcuffing herself to the front door of Twitter’s headquarters in New York City back in November. Loomer also loudly interrupted a Congressional hearing last September in which Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, was testifying (Loomer’s protest was eventually drowned out when Representative Billy Long, of Missouri, rattled off a mock-auction cry; you can watch that here.)
For his part, Donald Trump Jr repeatedly spoke out against “shadow banning,” the practice which allegedly made it harder for Twitter users to find the handles of some prominent Republicans. Twitter has denied that it ever shadow banned users based on ideology. Vice reported last summer that Donald Trump Jr’s spokesman was being “shadow banned,” and Trump Jr himself began tweeting extensively about the issue. You can see some of his tweets on the issue here:
