Who is Natalie Harp, Trump's right-hand woman?
One of Trump's longest serving and most loyal aides, Harp was thrust again into the spotlight when Democrat Jon Ossoff noted her closeness to the president.
Natalie Harp, aged 35, has become a remarkably consistent presence alongside Donald Trump in recent years, earning her the reputation as one of his most enduring and loyal aides. Among her key responsibilities, Harp is entrusted with drafting his Truth Social posts.
Her prominence was recently amplified by Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat and frequent critic of Trump, who mentioned her by name in a widely circulated speech. Ossoff criticized Trump's "travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar," referencing the new Air Force One and reports that Harp was part of a small group that joined Trump when he secretly changed planes after leaving Turkey last month.
Here's what is known about the Trump assistant, who has been described as both a "gatekeeper" and a "comfort blanket."
Harp, a California native from a conservative Christian background, entered the unconventional White House through an unusual route. She gained recognition by attributing her survival to Trump. During his first term, Trump championed the Right to Try Act, which expanded access to experimental treatments for certain patients. Harp utilized this legislation for her bone cancer. She quickly rose to prominence within Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) faction of the Republican party by sharing her experience, subsequently joining an advisory board for his 2020 re-election campaign.
At the 2020 Republican National Convention, Harp stated, "When I failed the chemotherapies that were on the market, no one wanted me in their clinical trials. They didn't give me the right to try experimental treatments, Mr. President. You did, and without you, I'd have died waiting for them to be approved." Trump later remarked, "She lit up the television screen like very few people I have ever seen do it."
Following Trump's defeat in that election, Harp hosted a program on the conservative One America News Network (OAN). There, she became known as a fierce defender of Trump and a prominent proponent of election denial. She departed OAN in 2022 to join Trump's subsequent presidential campaign.
Most insights into Trump's perception of Harp come from anonymous, second-hand sources in books by journalists such as Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, and Michael Wolff. Very little information about her personal life is publicly available.
Harp's official title at the White House is executive assistant to the president, a position typically associated with managing logistics, scheduling, communication flow, and essential secretarial duties. However, by all accounts, Harp has redefined this role, and her public profile is considerably higher than that of her predecessors, including Madeleine Westerhout in Trump's first administration.
White House reporters frequently observe Harp in close proximity to Trump in the Oval Office or boarding Air Force One for numerous domestic and international trips. A source close to the White House told the BBC, "She's always around. Literally, always."
Among White House insiders and the press, she is often called the "human printer" due to her frequent appearance with a portable printer, providing Trump with hard copies of articles and social media posts, which he prefers. This practice, according to another source familiar with White House operations, grants Harp significant influence over the information and updates Trump receives. Other anonymous sources have characterized her to US media outlets as a "gatekeeper" and a "comfort blanket."
Harp also functions as a social media scribe for Trump, posting on his Truth Social account on his behalf. A widely shared image, following Ossoff's remarks, depicts Harp typing a post in the president's distinctive writing style as he dictates to her while watching a Kamala Harris speech in 2024.
Amid the recent attention on Harp, the White House has described her as a "trusted and valued" team member, though Trump has rarely spoken about her on camera.
Ossoff was among several Trump critics who highlighted Harp's reported presence on the plane Trump boarded to depart Turkey after the US allegedly received intelligence about a threat from Iran. Reporter Maggie Haberman, who has extensively covered Trump's presidencies, was asked on MSNOW why Trump brought Harp on the secret plane. Haberman responded, "Because she is sort of his binky, for lack of a better way of putting it, a comfort blanket." Haberman and Swan reported for the New York Times in 2024 that Harp had purportedly written in a letter to Trump, "You are all that matters to me."
When a CNN reporter, Kristen Holmes, questioned Trump earlier this week about Ossoff's comments, the White House reacted with anger on its official X account, labeling Holmes "a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession." Another post directed at Holmes read, "Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive."