A close aide to Donald Trump has become the focus of a heated clash between the White House and Senator Jon Ossoff after the Democratic lawmaker highlighted her close relationship with the US president.
Natalie Harp, 35, is an executive assistant to Trump and a constant presence at his side, both at the White House and during weekend trips to his golf properties.
Although little known to the public, Harp is seen as a gatekeeper in Trump’s inner circle, curating news articles, social media posts and messages that reach the president.
Secret flight puts Harp in spotlight
Harp came under greater public scrutiny after reports that she was among the few people who accompanied Trump on a secret flight out of Turkey last month.
Cabinet secretaries, senior advisers, military personnel and journalists were left travelling on another aircraft due to unspecified Iranian threats.
The episode raised questions about Trump’s relationship with his young executive assistant and the influence she holds within his inner circle.
The swift and fierce response from the White House also highlighted the extent to which Trump and his advisers were prepared to defend Harp.
Ossoff, who is seeking re-election to the Senate in November and is seen as a potential Democratic presidential contender for 2028, drew a sharp response after mentioning Harp during a rally on Sunday.
The senator criticised Trump, saying that instead of focusing on his responsibilities as commander-in-chief, the president was content to ‘build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar’.
He was referring to Trump’s construction plans and his use of the lavish Air Force One given to him by the Middle Eastern state.
White House launches fierce counterattack
White House communications director Steven Cheung responded on social media on Monday, accusing Ossoff of denigrating hardworking people serving their country.
He called the senator a ‘radical, extremist Dumocrat’, using an insult previously employed by Trump against the Democratic Party.
Asked about Ossoff’s remarks in the Oval Office, Trump mocked the senator by comparing him to the comedy character Pee-wee Herman.
He then turned to discussing plans for an elaborate White House ballroom and criticised the reporter who raised the question.
Trump’s communications team subsequently posted messages attacking the reporter, including one suggesting that her children would be ‘sickened and embarrassed’ by her.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle described Harp as ‘one of the most loyal and hardest-working aides on President Trump’s team’.
Ingle also launched a personal attack on Ossoff, calling him a ‘cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama’.
Harp’s rise in Trump’s inner circle
Harp first entered Trump’s orbit in 2019 after praising him for signing legislation that gave patients access to certain unapproved medical treatments.
She said the measure allowed her to obtain an experimental treatment for bone cancer.
She later spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and briefly worked as a host for the right-wing One America News Network before becoming Trump’s personal assistant in 2022.
During the 2024 election campaign, Harp travelled extensively with Trump and printed documents for him to review, earning the nickname ‘human printer’ because of the president’s preference for reading printed material.
New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan wrote in their book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, that Harp’s devotion to Trump was extensive.
Excerpts from the book said part of her role involved providing Trump with a steady flow of positive news stories and social media posts, which she would often read aloud.
The authors also reported that Harp wrote letters expressing admiration for Trump and left them in his personal spaces.
Asked why he singled out Harp during an MSNOW interview, Ossoff said his remarks were intended as commentary on the make-up of Trump’s White House staff.
‘Here’s the point, we’re in wartime,’ Ossoff said on Monday. ‘And he retreats into this bubble of West Wing aides who are his security blanket to make him feel good about himself.’
The attention surrounding Harp has also renewed focus on first lady Melania Trump and her relatively limited public appearances.
While she has historically maintained a significantly reduced public schedule, she has also missed several recent high-profile gatherings.
These included a memorial service in Washington for the late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham and the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in late July.
Melania Trump was last publicly seen on July 19, when she joined the president and members of their family at the Fifa World Cup final in New Jersey.
She is scheduled to appear at the White House on Thursday to announce an initiative with IndyCar, Fox Corporation and two universities to expand education opportunities for foster care children.
