An adviser for a pro-Trump policy group once suggested then-President Barack Obama was a Kenyan-born Muslim and made several other anti-Muslim comments on Twitter.
John Loudon is a policy adviser at America First Policies, a non-profit group tasked with promoting Trump’s policy goals on a range of issues like a wall on the US-Mexico border, Iran and North Korea. Vice President Mike Pence regularly appears at fundraisers and events hosted by the group.
A CNN KFile review of Loudon’s Twitter account reveals that, as far back as 2009 and as recently as this year, he used inflammatory and derogatory language while discussing a wide variety of groups of people including women, Muslims and Democrats.
In February 2015, Loudon called Barack Obama an “Islamchurian Candidate,” in reference to the book and film about a politician who is brainwashed into becoming an assassin for an international conspiracy. The comments came directly after a speech by then-President Obama on combating ISIS in which he said the US was not at war with Islam.
In one October 2012 tweet, Loudon commented on a tweet from then-Fox News host Greta Van Susteren asking if the presidential debate felt like a “Chris Mathews (sic) show on crack,” with the remark, “Crack whore Dem voter says, ‘huh?’”
A spokesperson for America First Policies did not return a request for comment.
Loudon did not respond to a request for comment but tweeted on Monday, “Must be a slow news day. Apparently fake news is dissecting my tweets from 2010 just to try to hurt POTUS. Reach much?”
Prior to working at America First, Loudon was an elected member of the Missouri Senate and the Missouri House of Representatives. Loudon and his wife, Gina, were delegates for Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and Gina is on the Media Advisory Board for Trump’s re-election campaign. She and her husband have visited the White House and attended pro-Trump events at Trump properties, according to her social media postings.
America First Policies has recently faced criticism because of two other staffers who’ve made controversial remarks. Carl Higbie, a senior staffer for the group, resigned from the Trump administration in January after older comments he made came to light in which he said African-Americans are lazier than whites, and “the black race” has “lax morals.” Higbie initially apologized for the comments but has recently defended them.
Another policy adviser, Juan Pablo Andrade, was caught on a video reported by Mediaite making seemingly pro-Nazi comments. Andrade claims the video is out of context and he was quoting someone else. He has said he is looking for the full video, which would exonerate him.
Below is a selection of some of Loudon’s tweets:
On Islam and Muslims
In July 2014, Loudon engaged in a conversation with another Twitter user whose tweets no longer appear in which he harshly criticized Islam and Muslims.
In one tweet he wrote, “Quick, name one other religion that rapes young girls, beheads and slaughters innocents in the name of their God.”
In another, he wrote that there was “No comparison between 1000 years of civilization w/ occasional ‘war crimes’” that was committed by the West, to “the genocide and rape of girls for Allah.”
In another, he wrote “millions” endorse radicalism and “a billion who concur with their silence.”
In September 2010, Loudon retweeted a post saying, “every time i hear a ‘moderate’ muslim speak about muslim extremists, i sense a tacit approval.”
In September 2014, Loudon wrote a tweet saying that Muslims in prison converted OJ Simpson to their religion because they were “impressed by his proven beheading skills.”
“So OJ got converted to #Islam in prison,” Loudon said. “Guess they were impressed by his proven beheading skills. #tcot”
On Obama
In February 2015, Loudon called Obama an “Islamchurian Candidate,” in reference to the book and film about a politician who is brainwashed into becoming an assassin for an international conspiracy.
“The Islamchurian candidate speaks,” Loudon wrote. “You hateful beheading candidates need to love these awesome Muslims.”
In January of 2017, Loudon retweeted a tweet from anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney spreading a fringe claim Clinton aide Huma Abedin had ties to Muslim Brotherhood.
In March 2012, Loudon shared a tweet calling Obama “Kenyan-born,” with the comment, “Well imagine that?”
On Women
In January 2017, Loudon joked about that attendees of that year’s Women’s March had mistaken the National Mall for a shopping mall.
“Millions of women across the land heard about a #March to a mall,” he said. “And raced to D.C. credit cards in hand.”
In January 2018, Loudon alleged that actresses in Hollywood “slept their way to the top” and were only showing fake solidarity with women who were speaking out about harassment and abuse as part of the #MeToo movement.
“Shameless #HollywoodHypocrites - Actresses who slept their way to the top showing #FakeSolidarity w/ actresses who spoke up and got blackballed,” he wrote. “Where is #Justice for them? #MeToo”
On Democrats
Loudon shared two tweets, a retweet of Andrew Breitbart in August 2009 and a post of his own in March 2018, saying, respectively, that liberals were trying to keep people on the “liberal plantation” and the “progressive plantation.”
In March 2010, Loudon shared a tweet from someone referring to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House at the time, as “Nazi Pelosi.”
“Could someone take the giant gavel out of Nazi Pelosi’s hand and smack her across the head w/ it?” the tweet read.
In October 2012, Loudon commented on a tweet from Fox News host Greta Van Susteren asking if the presidential debate felt like a “Chris Mathews (sic) show on crack,” with the remark, “Crack whore Dem voter says, ‘huh?’”
In March 2010, Loudon twice shared tweets calling then-Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, who eventually voted for the Affordable Care Act only after President Barack Obama pledged to sign an Executive Order that upheld restrictions on federal funding of abortions, a whore.
One retweet said, “Stupak just proved what a WHORE he is.” In the other, Loudon replied to a tweet from a user saying that if he were a pimp, Stupak would be the “cheapest whore on my payroll,” by saying, “Do we know his price?”