Natalie Harp's Relationship with Trump Sparks National Debate
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Natalie Harp’s relationship with Trump has become the subject of national debate after Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said the president was more interested in spending time with her and building the White House ballroom than he was in doing his job.
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Fox NewsOssoff, a 39-year-old freshman senator running for re-election in Georgia, drew criticism after making a remark about White House aide Natalie Harp during an Atlanta campaign rally Sunday. Ossoff suggested that President Donald Trump has been neglecting his duties, saying, "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."
USA TodayThe woman he referenced was Trump's aide Natalie Harp. The week before the rally, reports came out that Harp, 35, was among a small group of aides to join Trump in a secret plane swap in Turkey after a possible threat on the other Air Force One plane.
The HillOssoff: ‘Amazing to watch this White House melt down’ over Harp remark Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) doubled down Wednesday on his criticism of President Trump’s relationship with longtime White House aide Natalie Harp, brushing off a wave of attacks from the president’s inner circle over his remarks. Ossoff, who is seeking reelection in Georgia against Trump-backed Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), came under fire by the White House…
BBC NewsPublished Few people in US President Donald Trump's orbit have appeared as frequently by his side as Natalie Harp in recent years.
BreitbartOssoff said, “It’s been amazing to watch this White House meltdown over this all week. And about Natalie Harp, these White House staffers are adults, public officials paid by the taxpayers, with immense power in positions of public trust. And whether it’s Natalie Harp printing out Donald Trump’s daily dose of delusion and flattery, or Peter Navarro steering taxpayer funded loans to Trump family investments, or Pete Hegseth deluding the president daily into deepening this quagmire in the Middle East, no one cares about their feelings.”
Washington ExaminerOssoff was pressed about the comment on Monday by former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki during an appearance on Ms Now. Asked why he specifically mentioned Harp, Ossoff instead focused on the broader group surrounding Trump, saying the president is “surrounded by sycophants” who are unwilling to challenge him.
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“The sailors on the Lincoln are fighting his war, a war based on lies, while he plays with his new ballroom, flies around on a jet given to him by a foreign prince, and retreats into this circle of sycophantic aides,” Ossoff told O’Donnell.
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BreitbartHe added, “The sailors on the Lincoln are fighting his war, a war based on lies, while he plays with his new ballroom, flies around on a jet given to him by a foreign prince, and retreats into this circle of sycophantic aides who tell him every day what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear. This entire White House is responsible for lying the country into war, and for the rest of their careers, they will be known for having participated in this obscenity.” Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN
Washington Examiner“While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings, he golfs, and trades stocks,” Ossoff said. “See, 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.”
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Harp has stuck in the news cycle in the past week: her estranged brother spoke to CNN. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman called her Trump's "binky ... a comfort blanket." Of course, Ossoff's comment had a role in it too, though he received some backlash from conservatives who called his comments sexist.
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HuffPostOssoff’s viral dig, and the subsequent wave of stories about Harp and Trump in the days since, have seemingly gotten under the MAGA world’s skin.
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She rose to fame by crediting Trump with saving her life. In his first term, Trump got the Right to Try Act passed to give some patients greater access to experimental treatments, which Harp used for her bone cancer. She quickly gained prominence and popularity in Trump's Maga (Make America Great Again) wing of the Republican party talking about the experience, and soon after joined an advisory board for Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.
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Fox NewsHarp rose to prominence in 2019 after crediting Trump’s Right to Try Act with helping her access experimental treatment for a rare bone cancer. She later joined Trump’s 2020 campaign and became a special assistant to the president.
HuffPostNatalie Harp’s rise to the upper echelons of Trump’s inner circle began in 2019 when she credited him with saving her life during a battle with bone cancer. This was due to Trump’s signing of “The Right to Try Act,” which allowed for the greater use of experimental medical treatments by terminally ill patients.
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In practice, this means that Harp has an out-sized ability to control what information or updates Trump receives, according to another source familiar with White House operations.
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HuffPostTrump’s other advisers say that with Harp around, the president “enjoys an unvetted flow of information, some of it poisonous and counterproductive,” according to The New York Times.
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She signed a letter to Trump: “With all my heart, Natalie.” In a letter to Trump reviewed by The New York Times, Harp apologized to the president if she embarrassed him while walking the course with him in Scotland.
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According to Harp’s estranged brother, Preston Harp, Trump isn’t her first presidential obsession.
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Washington Examiner “No one has been more consistently eloquent or incisive in exposing @realDonaldTrump than @Ossoff,” Axelrod wrote on X. “The paragraph from his weekend speech that has gotten so much attention was a brutal takedown.”
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02 USA Today The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.
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03 Fox News Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mike Collins is going scorched earth, accusing his Democratic opponent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., of making a "sexist" and "misogynist" viral remark involving a female cancer survivor working in the Trump White House.
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04 BBC News Following an unorthodox path to the White House A California native and member of a conservative Christian family, Harp followed an unorthodox path into an already unconventional White House.
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05 HuffPost Ossoff was referring to footage that recently surged online of Trump dictating a Truth Social post to Harp, pointing out his accumulation of wealth and unpopular war on Iran — which Trump claimed in March during the early stages of the conflict would last mere weeks.
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06 Breitbart Lawrence O’Donnell said, “Senator, of all the things you’ve said about Donald Trump, and there are many, this is the one that apparently bothers him and everyone at his White House the most. You said we just heard it. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace, gifted by the Emir of Qatar. Why do you think that’s the line that bothers Donald Trump the most?”
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