Pete Buttigieg explains in just two words why Donald Trump’s relationship with Laura Loomer is bad

Pete Buttigieg Photo: NBC News

On Sunday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Donald Trump’s association with right-wing madwoman Laura Loomer was a “reminder” of what the twice-indicted felon will bring to the White House if re-elected. Buttigieg summed it up in two words: “exhausting chaos.”

Buttigieg’s apt observation came on NBC’s Meet the press after an appearance by Trump’s controversial vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who was previously asked on the show about Loomer’s racist claim that “the White House will smell like curry” if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president.

Related:

Vance told host Kristen Welker that he makes “a fabulous chicken curry” and: “I don’t find it offensive when someone talks about their dietary preferences or what they want to do in the White House.”

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Buttigieg was not convinced.

“We are not having a serious political debate about immigration or any other issue. If you brought JD Vance on your show, we would basically be debating how racist it is to talk about the things that Laura Loomer talks about,” Buttigieg replied.

“This is the kind of sideshow they want to bring to the main stage so they don’t have to talk about serious things. And it reminds us how exhausting it was to deal with all of this when Donald Trump was president the first time,” the transportation secretary added.

“If they were to come back to power, America would face another four years of this exhausting chaos every time we watch the news.”

On X, Buttigieg wrote, “Cats! Dogs! Geese! Laura Loomer! Look, now he’s attacking Taylor!” He was referencing just a few of Trump’s outrageous moments over the past week, such as when he accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating pets and when he posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” on social media a few days after Swift endorsed Harris.

“Like the last season before a show gets canceled for being over the top and boring at the same time,” Buttigieg wrote. “This election is about jobs, wages, climate, health care, abortion. Not his show. About your life.”

Loomer, a failed congressional candidate from Florida and avowed 9/11 conspiracy theorist, has spent years spouting homophobic slurs and anti-Semitic phrases from her Internet perch. Most recently, the 31-year-old bombshell has latched onto the former president in the final days of his third presidential run.

Last week, Loomer accompanied Trump to the presidential debate in Philadelphia and attended events with his entourage to commemorate 9/11. She also spent nights at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club while the former first lady retreated to Trump Tower in New York.

The intimate relationship has drawn criticism even from some of the president’s most ardent and irresponsible supporters, such as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia). Graham’s public disdain for Loomer prompted her to confront the senator about rumors that he was gay.

“When is Lindsey finally going to come out?” Loomer posted shortly after Graham dared to disparage her. “We all know you’re a lesbian, Lindsey.”

It is precisely this kind of “exhausting chaos” that Buttigieg is so sick of.