‘My Goodness!’ David Axelrod Marvels at Laura Loomer Influencing Global Affairs

CNN anchor Erin Burnett led a panel discussion on Thursday night about MAGA influencer Laura Loomer’s recent conversion on Ukraine and a sit-down interview with Ukraine’s leader. Veteran political strategist David Axelrod just marveled at the whole thing and at one point said, “My goodness! The things one has to do to save their country.”

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling top Trump ally Laura Loomer, during a one-on-one interview in Ukraine, that his relationship with Donald Trump has improved,” Burnett began before playing a clip of Zelensky with Loomer:

You are right, the tone has changed — absolutely. We had our first changing moment in Rome, at the Vatican. Yes, it was not a long meeting, but I always said that I think it was a historic moment, because we changed the relationship in fifteen, twenty minutes. I’m so happy, because a lot of lives depend on such relations and dialogue.

“That clip emerged just hours after the MAGA podcaster posted a photo online revealing the interview, saying, quote, ‘I just interviewed President Zelensky at Mariinsky Palace in Ukraine. No questions were off limits, and I didn’t pull any punches.’ The post and sit-down came just two days after Loomer had very publicly changed her stance on Ukraine,” continued Burnett, adding:

After she saw Russian attacks on a historic monastery up close, she said: “I feel like such an [expletive] for minimizing the struggle of Ukrainians over the past five years. I often said, ‘I don’t care.’ Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say.” There’s some self-awareness there — and that’s obviously an understatement given some of Loomer’s past comments on Ukraine.

She’s said many things, including that Ukraine is “a country full of Nazis,” and that it’s now “clearly a country led by a jihadi apologist.”

“Alright, everyone’s here with me. So, S.E., how significant is it that Zelensky would agree to meet with her?” Burnett said, turning to guest S.E. Cupp.

“The whole thing’s odd and interesting. Look — if she’s going to do propaganda, I’d rather it be Zelensky’s version of propaganda than Putin’s, okay? She was regurgitating all the Putin propaganda before. So was Tucker Carlson. So was all of the far right. That’s crazy, and I’m glad that she went there. It’s one thing to be a keyboard warrior — it’s easy to say things from the safety of the patio at Mar-a-Lago. It’s much different when you actually go to a place,” Cupp replied, adding:

That’s why we encourage journalists to get out of the newsroom. That’s why we send members of Congress on codels to these places — go see it. It might change your mind and inform your opinion. But I’m very curious, and concerned, about how this all came to be.

I covered Tulsi Gabbard going to meet with Bashar al-Assad without approval from Congress, and she came back and regurgitated his propaganda and talking points. That was very alarming. I don’t know how this came to be, and I’d be curious whether she went as an envoy for Trump, as a podcaster, or as a private citizen.

“We don’t know. And, David, let’s be clear here: when you see her sitting with Zelensky, part of the reason your jaw is on the floor isn’t just because of the opinions she’s had about Ukraine — based on propaganda and a lack of any real experience there — but because of the other things she’s said other things,” Burnett continued, adding:

She said that if Kamala Harris won, ‘the White House will smell like curry, and White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.’ She said she ‘can’t even watch a Super Bowl anymore because immigrants have literally ruined everything.’ And there’s a lot more where that came from. The image of her sitting across from Ukrainian President Zelensky, in that context, is incredibly powerful.

“It is. And all I can think is: my goodness, the things one has to do to save their country,” Axelrod replied, adding:

I think he decided this is something he had to do to save his country. They call her an influencer, but the person she influences that he cares about is Donald Trump. And if this is what it takes, then this is what he’s going to do.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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