Florida Sen. Rick Scott to far-right extremist Laura Loomer: “You always do a great job!”

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott praised Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist and provocateur.

Scott is currently seeking a second term in the U.S. Senate. His Democratic opponent is former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

Loomer gained notoriety with her incendiary social media posts. In 2018, she was banned from Twitter, now X, for posting frequent anti-Muslim content. The ban was lifted when billionaire Elon Musk took over the platform in 2022. Since then, Loomer has made posts describing herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and celebrating the deaths of migrants who drowned while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

In 2019, Loomer was a correspondent for the conspiracy website Infowars. She made a video for the site insinuating that the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL was staged. Seventeen people, most of whom were younger than 16, were killed in the attack.

A few months later, Loomer attended an invite-only fundraiser hosted by Scott in Palm Beach, FL. Scott and Loomer posed for a photo together at the event. A Scott spokesperson told the Daily Beast at the time that Scott was not familiar with Loomer or her offensive remarks.

In July 2024, however, Loomer interviewed Scott at the Republican National Convention. At the start of their conversation, Scott praised Loomer.

“It’s exciting to be here with you, by the way,” Scott said. “You always do a great job.”

Loomer is a close ally of former President Donald Trump and has accompanied him on the 2024 campaign trail. Earlier this month, Loomer said if Vice President Kamala Harris, who is half-Indian, wins the election the White House “will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.”

Two of Scott’s Republican colleagues, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, issued a joint statement condemning Loomer’s racist remarks. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, also a Trump ally, signed onto the statement as well.

“I have concerns about her rhetoric and her hateful tone,” Greene told CNN. “To me, many of the comments that she makes and how she attacks Republicans like me, many other Republicans that are strong supporters of President Trump, I think they’re a huge problem.”

Loomer has endorsed Scott’s bid to become the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate.

A Scott spokesperson did not respond to questions for this story.