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Ossoff targets Harp
Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old White House aide, has become a focus of controversy after Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff said President Donald Trump would rather “build his ballroom and travel with Natalie” than do his job, in remarks that also referenced a “defenseless flying palace” gifted by the emir of Qatar.
““He doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.””
The New York Times described Harp as “the 35-year-old West Wing aide” who is “a one-woman conduit of information operating entirely outside the usual chain of command,” and said her public profile surged after she was among the “lucky few” who joined Trump inside an airplane catering container to be whisked out of Turkey under threat of attack by Iran.
The same New York Times account said Harp “stays up late with him drafting social media posts” and “texts with world leaders on the president’s behalf,” while also noting she “rarely speaks on camera” despite being “ever-present” in the Oval Office.
In response to Ossoff’s comments, Trump deflected when a CNN reporter asked about the remarks, and the White House then attacked the reporter in “unusually personal terms,” according to The New York Times.
The Telegraph reported that Melania “doesn’t like” speculation about Trump’s relationship with Harp after Ossoff’s remarks, and said the administration hit back after the senator joked about an extramarital affair.
Letters, loyalty, backlash
The controversy has also centered on letters Harp wrote to Trump, including a note The New York Times said was signed “With all my heart, Natalie,” in which Harp apologized if she was an “embarrassment walking the course in Scotland.”
Forbes reported that Harp told Trump she was “sorry” if she was an “embarrassment walking the course in Scotland,” and said she wrote that she had been “distracted all week,” forgetting to eat and sleeping “a couple hours at a time.”
The New York Times said Harp is “supported by ‘With All My Heart, Natalie.’” and described her as a “one-woman conduit of information” who “stays up late with him drafting social media posts.”
In the same reporting cycle, Forbes said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Times that Harp “is one of the most loyal and hardest working aides on President Trump’s team,” while Jon Ossoff’s attack line accused Trump of surrounding himself with “sycophants.”
CNN journalist Kristen Holmes became a flashpoint when she asked Trump about Ossoff’s remarks, and The SMH.au account quoted Trump telling her “Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet,” while also describing the Rapid Response account’s personal attack on Holmes.
What’s at stake
The New York Times said Harp’s role is to act as a gatekeeper to Trump, describing her as “the utmost gatekeeper to President Trump” and emphasizing that she operates “entirely outside the usual chain of command.”
“a one-woman conduit of information operating entirely outside the usual chain of command”
That framing matters because the same New York Times account said the public’s interest “exploded” after Harp was among the few aides who traveled with Trump in a “airplane catering container” during the Turkey evacuation under threat from Iran, and then intensified after Ossoff singled her out in a political attack line.
Forbes added that concerns have reportedly grown within Trump’s inner circle about whether Harp “doesn’t properly vet the flow of information to and from Trump,” and noted that she maintains close physical proximity to him.
The Telegraph reported that Davis Ingle called Ossoff “a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama,” and said Steve Cheung described Ossoff on X as “the biggest cuck[old] loser in politics.”
Meanwhile, The New York Times said the furor triggered “particularly ferocious response” across Trump world, with “accusations of sexism from the right and cries of snowflakery from the left,” as the spotlight stayed on Harp’s constant presence beside the president.
