Sorry for your loss Tara you two looked like you really bonded, but ya the bus attempted murder on her was horrific, that's just how I look at it, God bless and God bless VG RIP.
Sad that the way of the world today is to look for conspiracies no matter how unlikely. Epstein left the world in 2019, why would anyone want to kill a survivor in 2025?
Those idiots have NO IDEA what she went through as a kid and then to meet Ghislaine who lured her right back into a trafficking enterprise. Scumbags. Epstein was also not an intelligence agent and he did kill himself.
Tara- I really respect your work on this story. In fact, this is the story where I discovered your journalism. Please keep it up and follow this story where it leads.
That said, how can you give Laura Loomer any media platform when you know what she is about? I firmly feel that the downfall of the so called legitimate media was when they started legitimizing the clowns who appear on Breitbart or Laura Loomer types simply because they had large followings and are ‘out there’. When I was younger (I am 61 years old now) and I would see people buying the Weekly World News or watching professional wrestling and saying it was true, we all knew they were a bit crazy but likely could differentiate somewhat between truth and fiction, entertainment or news, because the legit media ignored the nonsense Now, it is becoming so much harder to differentiate specifically because respected journalists are providing these nuts platforms.
Laura Loomer got members of the National Security Council fired, along with the top two guys at the NSA. Tara didn't "platform" Loomer, the president did. To not cover her would be journalistic malpractice. She also doesn't do many interviews, so it's pretty remarkable that Tara was able to do that.
Julie- I see your point and thanks for making it. I think what I did is I took my frustration and a ‘chip on my shoulder’ from years of seeing journalists legitimize people like Steve Bannon and, yes, Loomer, and applied that to Tara;’s interview with Loomer. This might be a bit of an attempt to make a tortured point and I apologize for that because I hate when other people do that.
That being said, I hope my point, albeit ‘tortured’, generally, about the press’ role in legitimizing nut jobs is not lost simply because I chose a poor example to make my point. It is hard to put that Pandora back in its box, but I wish the legitimate press didn’t go that route years ago and if they didn’t, perhaps nobodies like Loomer would have the zero influence that they now have.
This is just your same, tired argument. The press did not "legitimize" Steve Bannon. He was cofounder of Breitbart, ran Trump's first campaign, and worked in the White House. Now he hosts one of MAGA (and the country's) most influential podcasts. Not a press creation. If the "legitimate press" ignored him, they wouldn't be doing their job.
It sounds like your real point is "don't cover people I disagree with." That's a nonstarter.
“It sounds like your real point is”…”so not an apology”. I don’t know who you usually deal with but I would suggest you take things at face value first before you infer.
My apology to Tara and relative backtrack was sincere after reading your comment. You should be congratulated for convincing someone on the interview to change his mind even slightly. But if needing to agree 100% with your premise that a legit press person should interview anyone, at any time in their so called career, and it is newsworthy if that press person decides it is, I cannot go there, even if YOU continue to triple down on it.
Respectfully, as the article above states, members of the legit media were taking Breitbart and its ilk seriously in their platforms long before Steve Bannon was in the White House or ran Trump’s first campaign. This is what that Politico article states, and i am sure we can find many articles from further back that says similar things.
So….in conclusion, I 100% agree with TP and even YOU (congratulations again) that given LL’s prominence right now, however she got this prominence, it does make her a legit subject for an interview, as regrettable as that is. I probably would NOT agree that the very FIRST legit journalist that interviewed LL on a major platform, way back when she was in elementary school or whatever causing problems, was newsworthy and that is the problem.
So if you can do what I tried to do, and remove the defensive ‘chip on your shoulder’ from previous conversations that you have had with others and not assign that anger to me, I hope you take the time to appreciate the nuances of what i am saying the same way I took time to appreciate the nuances about what you said.
And if you don’t, it is OK to not repeat the same thing for a third or fourth time. I understand your position. Thanks and have a nice afternoon.
I thought your discussion was well calibrated. I was really interested to hear from her in a non-confrontational setting, which you provided. Not a fan of hers at all, but letting her speak her mind provided insights into the MAGA world, which I struggle to comprehend.
I always believed Virginia’s story. I am so sorry for your loss.
Thank you
Sorry for your loss Tara you two looked like you really bonded, but ya the bus attempted murder on her was horrific, that's just how I look at it, God bless and God bless VG RIP.
Sad that the way of the world today is to look for conspiracies no matter how unlikely. Epstein left the world in 2019, why would anyone want to kill a survivor in 2025?
Exactly. Virginia suffered from a lifetime of abuse.
Those idiots have NO IDEA what she went through as a kid and then to meet Ghislaine who lured her right back into a trafficking enterprise. Scumbags. Epstein was also not an intelligence agent and he did kill himself.
Tara- I really respect your work on this story. In fact, this is the story where I discovered your journalism. Please keep it up and follow this story where it leads.
That said, how can you give Laura Loomer any media platform when you know what she is about? I firmly feel that the downfall of the so called legitimate media was when they started legitimizing the clowns who appear on Breitbart or Laura Loomer types simply because they had large followings and are ‘out there’. When I was younger (I am 61 years old now) and I would see people buying the Weekly World News or watching professional wrestling and saying it was true, we all knew they were a bit crazy but likely could differentiate somewhat between truth and fiction, entertainment or news, because the legit media ignored the nonsense Now, it is becoming so much harder to differentiate specifically because respected journalists are providing these nuts platforms.
Thank you for considering what I am saying.
Laura Loomer got members of the National Security Council fired, along with the top two guys at the NSA. Tara didn't "platform" Loomer, the president did. To not cover her would be journalistic malpractice. She also doesn't do many interviews, so it's pretty remarkable that Tara was able to do that.
Thanks for saying that Julie. I wouldn't have spoken to Laura if she didn't have that much power.
Julie- I see your point and thanks for making it. I think what I did is I took my frustration and a ‘chip on my shoulder’ from years of seeing journalists legitimize people like Steve Bannon and, yes, Loomer, and applied that to Tara;’s interview with Loomer. This might be a bit of an attempt to make a tortured point and I apologize for that because I hate when other people do that.
That being said, I hope my point, albeit ‘tortured’, generally, about the press’ role in legitimizing nut jobs is not lost simply because I chose a poor example to make my point. It is hard to put that Pandora back in its box, but I wish the legitimate press didn’t go that route years ago and if they didn’t, perhaps nobodies like Loomer would have the zero influence that they now have.
This is just your same, tired argument. The press did not "legitimize" Steve Bannon. He was cofounder of Breitbart, ran Trump's first campaign, and worked in the White House. Now he hosts one of MAGA (and the country's) most influential podcasts. Not a press creation. If the "legitimate press" ignored him, they wouldn't be doing their job.
It sounds like your real point is "don't cover people I disagree with." That's a nonstarter.
Actually, it sounds like you would like a second apology for my ignorance so that we can move on. I apologize…again. You are correct.
I was swayed that the legit press had a hand in helping legitimize Steve Bannon long before his ascent to the White House by stories like this back before Trump’s first term, but i must have misread or misinterpreted: https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/04/new-york-times-washington-post-fox-news-strike-deals-for-anti-clinton-research-205791
So not an apology, now tripling down.
“It sounds like your real point is”…”so not an apology”. I don’t know who you usually deal with but I would suggest you take things at face value first before you infer.
My apology to Tara and relative backtrack was sincere after reading your comment. You should be congratulated for convincing someone on the interview to change his mind even slightly. But if needing to agree 100% with your premise that a legit press person should interview anyone, at any time in their so called career, and it is newsworthy if that press person decides it is, I cannot go there, even if YOU continue to triple down on it.
Respectfully, as the article above states, members of the legit media were taking Breitbart and its ilk seriously in their platforms long before Steve Bannon was in the White House or ran Trump’s first campaign. This is what that Politico article states, and i am sure we can find many articles from further back that says similar things.
So….in conclusion, I 100% agree with TP and even YOU (congratulations again) that given LL’s prominence right now, however she got this prominence, it does make her a legit subject for an interview, as regrettable as that is. I probably would NOT agree that the very FIRST legit journalist that interviewed LL on a major platform, way back when she was in elementary school or whatever causing problems, was newsworthy and that is the problem.
So if you can do what I tried to do, and remove the defensive ‘chip on your shoulder’ from previous conversations that you have had with others and not assign that anger to me, I hope you take the time to appreciate the nuances of what i am saying the same way I took time to appreciate the nuances about what you said.
And if you don’t, it is OK to not repeat the same thing for a third or fourth time. I understand your position. Thanks and have a nice afternoon.
I thought your discussion was well calibrated. I was really interested to hear from her in a non-confrontational setting, which you provided. Not a fan of hers at all, but letting her speak her mind provided insights into the MAGA world, which I struggle to comprehend.
thank you
See above. I might have been a bit unfair.