Danish broadcaster DR has profiled Natalie Harp, the 35-year-old personal assistant who is almost constantly at President Donald Trump’s side, after a Democratic senator named her in a speech.
DR reported on August 20 that Harp works in the White House and has a fixed seat on the presidential helicopter Marine One. Citing The New York Times, DR noted that she travels with the president and stays up late with him producing social media posts.
The attention came after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff mentioned Harp by name in a speech criticizing Trump. According to BBC, cited by DR, Ossoff pointed to Harp being among the few people who accompanied Trump when the president secretly switched planes on his way home from Turkey last month.
The Hill reported that the plane switch took place amid a reported threat from Iran, with other senior officials left on a decoy Air Force One. As reported by Forbes, Ossoff has since doubled down, describing Harp as part of a group of aides around the president.
Camilla Sebelius Winther, a campaign analyst and writer at Kongressen.com, told DR that Harp’s title is executive assistant. Per Winther, it is entirely normal for someone in that role to be close to their boss, and little is publicly known about any personal relationship.
Harp’s path into Trump’s political circle began with her account of having bone cancer. She has said that Trump’s Right to Try law from 2018 gave her access to experimental treatment. DR noted that The Guardian pointed to earlier Washington Post reporting, in which experts found it unlikely the law affected her specific treatment.
After Trump’s election defeat in 2020, Harp worked as a host on the conservative channel One America News Network. There she repeated false claims that Trump had won the 2020 election, which was won by Joe Biden. She left the station in 2022 to work for Trump’s presidential campaign.
Harp writes and publishes posts on Trump’s social media accounts, and according to The New York Times she also communicates with world leaders on his behalf. The White House has described her as a trusted and valued member of Trump’s team, as quoted by BBC. Bloomberg describes her as a gatekeeper who works out of the Oval Office.
Winther told DR that loyalty is decisive for Trump, and that Harp’s daily proximity means she hears confidential information. She said the sudden attention may reflect an internal power struggle over who stands closest to the president.
CNN has reported that there is no evidence of any relationship beyond a normal dynamic between a politician and an aide. According to Time, Republicans and other aides have publicly defended Harp, while she has not commented herself.
