Donald Trump is again drawing mockery over his notably close working relationship with personal aide Natalie Harp, as First Lady Melania Trump continues to keep a far lower public profile.
Harp, 35, was one of only a small group of aides selected to stay with the president in July, when he quietly left Air Force One in Turkey amid an Iranian assassination threat.
Sources have told Our News Outlet that Harp is widely regarded as Trump’s closest aide, with some describing her as his “connective tissue” and noting that she appears to enjoy more direct access to the president than even White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Inside Trump’s orbit, Natalie Harp has also earned the nickname “human printer” because of her routine of handing him hard copies of articles and social media posts he wants to read. At rallies, events and on trips, she is rarely far from his side.
Now, as Harp’s prominence around the president returns to the spotlight, critics are seizing on the relationship and turning it into a political punchline.
Senator Jon Ossoff, a possible Democratic contender for 2028, took aim at Trump during a Saturday rally in Georgia, mocking the president over his bond with the younger aide.
Ossoff accused Trump of having no interest in carrying out the duties of the Oval Office, claiming instead that he “golfs and trades stocks.”
Speaking to supporters, Ossoff said: “See, he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie [Harp] on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.”
Scrutiny over Harp’s closeness to Trump comes as Melania has done about half as many events in Trump’s second term compared to his first, according to NBC News.
Donald Trump is facing ridicule about his close relationship with his personal secretary Natalie Harp, while First Lady Melania Trump has shrunk away from the public eye
Sources have told Our News Outlet that Harp is Trump’s closest aide, often dubbing her his ‘connective tissue’ with some pointing out that has more access to the president than even his chief of staff Susie Wiles
Melania has done about half as many events in Trump’s second term compared to his first term
Harp, meanwhile, was spotted at Trump’s side this weekend as the duo shook hands with supporters at the president’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey
She did not attend Lindsey Graham’s funeral, the revamped White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, or the July 22 dignified transfer of four fallen US service members.
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Harp, meanwhile, was spotted at Trump’s side this weekend as the duo shook hands with supporters at the president’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. Harp was wearing a sleeveless turquoise top, with her blonde hair in a ponytail as she accompanied Trump.
Harp was one of only a handful of aides Donald Trump kept beside him last month when he slipped off Air Force One in Turkey and boarded a decoy military jet.
The escape was prompted by intelligence about a shoulder-fired missile threat to the president’s plane on the final day of the NATO summit in Ankara.
Trump hid inside a catering truck to reach the second aircraft, joined by Harp, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Oval Office operations director Walt Nauta.
Other cabinet officials, including Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent and Stephen Miller were all left behind on the larger plane.
Harp’s grip on the president was laid bare in June by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in their book Regime Change.
The authors reported that Harp left private notes for Trump in his personal spaces, one of which read: ‘You are all that matters to me.’
Swan said the letters were strange enough to draw the attention of the Secret Service, and the disclosure reportedly stunned Susie Wiles.
Haberman and Swan also quote Trump telling staff that Harp loved him as much as his wife and children did.
Melania was absent from last month’s dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base honoring U.S. troops killed in the Iran war. Harp and other aides accompanied Trump to the event
Harp was wearing a sleeveless turquoise top, with her blonde hair in a ponytail as she accompanied Trump
2028 Democratic hopeful Senator Jon Ossoff mocked Trump over his relationship with Harp
‘All of you will go off and make money,’ Trump reportedly told his own staffers. ‘She’ll never leave me.’
As previously noted, Melania was absent from last month’s dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base honoring US troops killed in the Iran war.
Trump was instead accompanied by Harp, who wore a somber, all-black dress for the occasion.
