Another day, another bout of conservative infighting that helps nobody. If you're on TwitterX hunting for chisme (a word for which I owe eternal gratitude to my Peruvian wife for introducing me to) to write about, you probably saw this one: Journalist Laura Loomer "exposed" the fact that former University of Kentucky swimmer-turned-activist Riley Gaines received money from a speech at a campaign event for Ron DeSantis's 2024 Election campaign in June.
She deleted the initial tweet because it had Gaines' address on it, but Loomer helpfully provided screencaps of the first post, saying Gaines "had a long run pretending to be a victim after [she] got beat by a man" and something about her 15 minutes being up, all just because she gave a speech at a campaign event for DeSantis, and he paid her for it.
I deleted a tweet and here’s why:
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 17, 2023
Posting publicly available FEC documents that are PUBLIC RECORDS and of public interest in a Presidential election year is not “doxxing”. Everyone knows that in order to be paid by a campaign you have to use an address, which is why most people… pic.twitter.com/heZHDT5ViS
Oh no! Someone gave a paid speech on behalf of a different political candidate! Whatever shall we do?
It didn't take long for Gaines to respond to Loomer's now-deleted tweet, saying that the Boston Globe already knew about her paid speech on behalf of DeSantis since October.
Additionally, she said the Trump campaign also offered her a paid spot with them, getting in a couple of cracks against Loomer by saying she "kisses [Trump's] butt for free" and lost two elections in Florida.
Your "investigative skills" must not be as good as you constantly tout. This was posted Oct 19 by the Boston Globe. Plus, it wasn't a secret anyways. I joined Desantis in South Carolina for an event earlier this year and was compensated for my time. That's how it works.
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) November 17, 2023
Who's… https://t.co/uQqYxJ1maV
But I think this part of Gaines' response really encapsulates how a lot of people undoubtedly feel about all this infighting between Trump's influencers and DeSantis's influencers:
And if Trump wins the primary, I'll be all in, because this country needs fiscal, social, and foreign policy conservative leadership. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that. And I'm not in the business of caring whether one person/a base "likes me" when our country and freedoms are at stake.
Despite this, Loomer kept up the vitriol, calling Gaines a "low IQ sellout bimbo" and "a f***ing b*tch" in response, throwing in a bit of bragging about how much money she raised in her primaries.
Thanks for proving to everyone what a Low IQ sell out bimbo you are @Riley_Gaines_.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 17, 2023
You might want to learn how to read an FEC report. Between both of my congressional races, I raised nearly $3 MILLON dollars. While banned on all social media, I out raised both of the… https://t.co/LfveZ4AE7k pic.twitter.com/E9TXRc7tMY
While Gaines did mistakenly claim she made more money for her pro-DeSantis speech in an additional tweet (which she deleted), Loomer did not let up, saying that just because she misread the Federal Election Commission (FEC) report, she somehow "deserved to get beat by a chick with a d**k."
.@Riley_Gaines_ thinks I only raised $10,500 when I ran for Congress.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 17, 2023
You know, if she’s this stupid and doesn’t have the intellectual ability to read an FEC report, then she deserved to get beat by a Chick with a Dick.
Why did you delete this post, Riley?
Stick to being a… pic.twitter.com/RtV0qwHchk
Yeesh, not even Trump is this nasty.
Still, Gaines was not wrong: either Trump or DeSantis is a far better alternative to whoever the Democrats end up trotting out for the 2024 election, assuming Biden is "politely" removed from running.
And yes, the OnlyTrump people do have a point when they say that the other candidates should drop out and we should all focus on fighting the left. I get that because the left is turning this country into a psychotic hellscape and we can't afford to keep going the way we're heading. It feels like we need someone right now to stop and reverse what is going on.
But does that necessarily mean anyone on the right who doesn't want Trump is somehow a RINO? Of course not. And calling them "low IQ sellout bimbos" and "f***ing b*tches" for that isn't exactly a winning strategy.
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