Laura Loomer is under heavy criticism after she called a recent meeting between former President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney a “coup.” The meeting took place on May 8, 2026, when Carney welcomed Obama to Toronto for the 2026 Global Progress Action Summit. Carney shared a video of the two shaking hands.
Loomer, a known ally of President Trump, posted on social media just after midnight to express her anger over the encounter. She wrote, “Why is Barack Hussein Obama meeting with world leaders while President Trump is in office? This is a coup.” The post quickly drew attention from other users on the platform, who were quick to point out what they saw as a clear double standard in her views, reports Mediaite.
Many users pulled up a post Loomer made in 2024, where she celebrated a meeting between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago. She had written at the time, “🚨 @netanyahu just arrived in Florida for his meeting with President Trump at Mar a Lago today.” Critics used this old post to argue that her outrage over the Obama-Carney meeting was inconsistent with how she reacted to a similar situation involving a former president.
The Logan Act is often cited but rarely understood by those pushing political outrage
The debate around these kinds of meetings often brings up the Logan Act, a law that bans private citizens from conducting unauthorized diplomacy with foreign governments. The act lays out clear consequences for anyone who violates it.
“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
However, legal experts point out that the Logan Act does not actually ban private citizens from simply meeting with foreign leaders. Trump’s own many meetings with international leaders throughout 2024 show how these kinds of interactions are generally treated in the current political environment. Obama has also been at the center of other political flashpoints recently, including how he responded to Trump’s racist ape video.
This latest controversy comes after a major legal loss for Loomer. On April 22, 2026, a federal judge threw out a defamation lawsuit she had filed against Bill Maher and HBO. She had sued after Maher made a joke on a September 13, 2024, broadcast suggesting she might be in a sexual relationship with President Trump, which she claimed hurt her standing in the president’s inner circle and cost her job opportunities.
US District Judge James Moody Jr. ruled that Maher’s comment was protected speech and not defamation. The judge said any reasonable viewer would have seen the remark as a joke, not a statement of fact. The court also determined that Loomer, as a public figure, failed to prove actual malice, which is required under First Amendment law for a defamation claim to succeed, according to CNN.
The ongoing tension between Trump and Obama has played out on multiple fronts, including Trump’s demands to expose Obama’s alien claims. The judge also found little evidence to support the damages Loomer claimed. Loomer herself testified that her income actually went up in 2024 compared to prior years, and she still has a direct line to the president and receives invitations to the White House.
The judge called her claims about lost job opportunities entirely speculative. Loomer publicly slammed the ruling, calling it “factually and legally wrong” and labeling the decision “dishonest and misogynistic.” She has said she plans to appeal.
Published: May 10, 2026 02:00 pm