Who is Natalie Harp? How Trump’s closest aide found herself in the spotlight
For years Natalie Harp has been a shadow in the White House, appearing in the background constantly without being noticed.
Now Harp has found herself the centre of attention, with a steady flow of leaks to the media detailing her obsequious behaviour towards Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump is seen as his motorcade drives past White House aide Natalie Harp. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Harp has been one of Trump’s longest serving aides, sitting at a desk next to the Oval Office and following him wherever he goes.
CNN reported that when there wasn’t a seat for her in a motorcade in 2023, she travelled to one of Trump’s court appearances in the boot of an SUV.
“That’s an unhealthy obsession with someone,” Harp’s estranged brother Preston told CNN.
“Trump’s best friends are people who are his fan club, you know, like, and so she’s his biggest fan, and so that’s probably why he likes her.
“And like she’s good looking.”
Trump’s son Eric responded by describing Preston Harp as “trash”.
“Natalie is an incredible young woman — a cancer survivor, a genuinely good person, and arguably one of the hardest-working people in the White House,” he said.
“She’s deeply committed to my father, to her job, and to this country.
“From the looks of it, she got all the family genetics.”
Natalie Harp disembarking Air Force One. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Other times she has been seen running alongside the president’s golf cart as he played.
In a note Harp wrote to the president, she apologised for being seen on the course.
“I also am sorry if I was an embarrassment walking the course in Scotland,” she wrote, according to the New York Times.
“I want things to always be right between us. I also know I’ve been distracted all week (forgetting to eat throughout the days, and even forgetting to sleep, and only catching a couple of hours at a time).
“With all my heart, Natalie.”
Despite having one of the most sensitive jobs in the White House, Harp managed to go a year without a security clearance, MS NOW reports.
Harp reportedly resisted any efforts to go through the routine clearance process, only agreeing to do so when the president intervened.
President Donald Trump and executive assistant Natalie Harp disembark Marine One on Sunday. AP
In Trump’s eyes, the 35-year-old has one of the most important jobs in Washington - managing his Truth Social account.
Trump will frequently dictate his posts for her to type out. White House sources also blamed Harp for a racist post depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
That post was one of very few made on Trump’s account that he later deleted.
She also is reportedly responsible for a post that depicted Trump as Jesus Christ, healing a man with his hands.
Harp rose quickly in conservative circles after she gave a speech at the Republican National Convention crediting Trump with saving her life.
As president, Trump signed a law allowing access to an experimental drug that she said cured her bone cancer.
She became a presenter on conservative news channel OAN, then became an aide for Trump.
Jon Ossoff is considered a potential candidate for president in 2028. AAP
Known in the White House as the human printer, she follows the president around with a portable printer to show him favourable news headlines and memes he would like.
Harp has found herself in the spotlight thanks to a brief reference from Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff that ignited a firestorm.
“While the sailors on the (USS Abraham) Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings,” Ossoff said at a rally.
“He golfs and trades stocks. He doesn’t want to do the job.
“He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Ossoff is running for re-election for his Georgia senate seat, but has been spending much of his campaign trying to get under Trump’s skin.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
