White House insiders say President Donald Trump’s widely condemned decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House underscores the growing influence of two of his most controversial advisers, Natalie Harp and Bill Pulte.
Some officials fear Trump may be particularly susceptible to impulsive decisions when the two loyal aides, both in their mid-30s, are advising him.
Harp, 35, enjoys extraordinary access to the president and frequently publishes his combative social media messages after he dictates them.
Pulte, 38, serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has been invited aboard Air Force One at least four times since August—an unusually high level of access for a Cabinet official. In Washington, some have even dubbed him “Little Trump.”
“Pulte is the worst,” one source said. “I haven’t determined if he is a fool or if he is nefarious.”
A separate Trump source told Our News Outlet that the president has considered removing select news organizations from the White House for some time.
“The president is the president. You can’t change his mind on this stuff,” the source said.
Trump announced the ban in a blistering Truth Social post last Friday. The move reportedly surprised even members of his own staff and triggered last-minute logistical changes for his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
White House insiders have raised concerns about the growing influence of Trump’s aides
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte and White House aide Natalie Harp were with the president shortly before some of his most inflammatory social media posts
Insiders told Our News Outlet they doubt Trump’s ban would have gone ahead if outgoing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (above) were still working in the West Wing
The decision prompted lawsuits from all three outlets and left the presidential television pool without access for much of Trump’s appearance at the United Nations. A judge moved overnight Wednesday to temporarily suspend the ban.
Sources say Harp showed Trump a collection of coverage critical of him and his administration shortly before the ban was announced.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the reports enraged the president and helped trigger the crackdown. A White House official confirmed that Pulte was not at the White House on Friday.
Previously, advisers had challenged proposals to exclude news organizations, warning that such a move would be undemocratic, according to a source close to the White House who spoke to Our News Outlet.
This time, however, communications director Steven Cheung appeared to offer little, if any, resistance. Cheung has long and frequently criticized CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
Many members of Trump’s team are reportedly pleased with the decision.
The contentious media ban is the latest indication of the expanding access enjoyed by Harp and Pulte.
Harp’s position was further strengthened this summer when she was among the few aides evacuated with Trump from Air Force One in Turkey. They were reportedly moved inside a catering truck amid an alleged Iranian missile threat.
Pulte, meanwhile, has traveled to Trump’s golf courses to present policy proposals on weekends. He often carries a poster board to illustrate and reinforce his arguments.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was away on Friday as Trump announced his press ban
Trump’s aide Harp has drawn scrutiny from the press over her fawning over the president in the past
One source said they are unsure if Trump aide Pulte, 38, is ‘a fool or if he is nefarious’
‘Bill Pulte is a member of Trump Clubs,’ a White House official remarked. ‘Of course he takes advantage of the tremendous membership and the President’s incredible properties.’
In one instance that angered Trump’s advisers, Pulte convinced the president to announce an ill-fated 50-year mortgage after showing him a printout of the plan.
Last week, he was photographed deplaning with poster boards; photos through an Air Force One window showed Trump reviewing one that appeared to read ‘Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.’
Hours before Trump announced the press ban Friday, Pulte appeared live on Steve Bannon’s War Room.
‘All these haters agree with one thing: Bill Pulte has one of the biggest jobs in the administration,’ Bannon said.
Pulte told Bannon: ‘You know me, we’re being very aggressive, we’re being very effective, we get s**t done.’
Harp, who has publicly credited Trump for saving her life after a cancer diagnosis due to his Right to Try law, sits immediately outside the Oval Office and travels with him almost everywhere.
Staff calls her the ‘human printer’ for handing him printed favorable clips, polls and memes.
Her importance among White House staffers was on full display after she was identified as one of the few aides evacuated with Trump from Turkey in a catering-truck container during an alleged Iranian threat this summer.
She accompanied him to Ireland last weekend and was with him at his Virginia golf club on Sunday, alongside another Trump aide who has concerned White House staff.
Pulte was spotted debarking Air Force One last week holding a poster board
Trump reviews a printed out poster board reading ‘Kennedy Center DEMOLITION’ given to him by Pulte last week
‘Every member of this team is valued. Director Pulte, Ms. Harp, and the rest of the team are doing a phenomenal job,’ White House spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez told Our News Outlet.
Still, there’s a feeling the ban’s frenzy might have been contained if more experienced press handlers had been in the West Wing.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August to spend more time with her young children. Insiders say she often talked Trump down from rash decisions about the White House press corps.
‘The White House is no man’s land right now,’ another insider fumed. ‘Karoline Leavitt would have never let this happen.’
‘Prior, when Trump would go to her and say he wanted to make some crazy decision related to the press, she would have him stand down or talk him out of it.’
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was home in Florida last week for medical appointments and was not involved in the decision, another source familiar with the matter told Our News Outlet.
Wiles also skipped Trump’s Ireland trip the previous weekend; he traveled instead with Harp, deputy chief of staff Richard Walters and Leavitt’s former top deputy Anna Kelly.
Harp and Pulte have become known inside the building as the last people in the room before some of the administration’s most embarrassing moments.
Pulte (left) and Harp (right) accompanied the president on his August 16 weekend trip to Trump’s golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey
They were the last two aides with Trump when he posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like healer, a post that drew sharp backlash from Christians.
Trump quickly deleted it and claimed he thought it showed him as a doctor.
Multiple advisers told Axios that Pulte had brought the image to Trump’s attention that weekend in Florida. Pulte declined to comment to Axios at the time, and a spokesperson did not comment on it when asked by Our News Outlet.
Sources have said Wiles opposed Pulte’s elevation and, four people with first-hand knowledge previously told Our News Outlet she sought his termination over the stunt.
She denied that allegation at the time, telling Our News Outlet it is ‘completely false,’ and that she works to help all of Trump’s staff.
Pulte has thrived anyway.
Trump posted an image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure in April, enraging his GOP base. Reports indicated Harp and Pulte were with him before he posted it, though neither has commented
After Tulsi Gabbard left as director of national intelligence this summer, Trump named Pulte acting DNI while he kept the FHFA job.
He served roughly 45 days and fired at least 51 people: six from the DNI office and 45 detailees sent back to their home agencies.
The posting gave him access to sensitive intelligence files and a platform to continue a DOGE-style downsizing.
Neither Harp nor Pulte responded to requests for comment.
Trump, Harp and Pulte were spotted together at the president’s Virginia golf resort on Sunday.
It was another vivid reminder that, with Leavitt gone and Wiles in Florida, the people closest to the president when he decides to pick a fight are the ones least inclined to stop him.
