Sen. Jon Ossoff criticized President Trump’s close relationship with 35-year-old aide Natalie Harp during a rally in Atlanta, contrasting the president’s conduct with the long deployments of sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Reporting in the book Regime Change says Trump told staff Harp "was the only one who loved him as much as his wife and his kids," and that Harp accompanied him on a covert exit from Air Force One in Turkey. The White House declined to comment.
Ossoff Skewers Trump Over Relationship With 35-Year-Old Aide Natalie Harp
Trump’s 35-year-old executive assistant Natalie Harp tagged along with her boss this weekend as he enjoyed a retreat at his New Jersey golf resort. / Annabelle Gordon / REUTERS
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff on Sunday publicly criticized President Donald Trump for his close relationship with 35-year-old White House aide Natalie Harp, using the episode to underscore broader complaints about the president’s conduct and priorities.
At a rally in Atlanta, the Georgia senator contrasted the long deployments of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln with what he described as the president’s negligence of official duties. "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. See, he doesn't want to do his job," Ossoff told the crowd.
Ossoff then turned to Trump’s relationship with Harp—who has been described in media accounts as frequently accompanying the president—and quipped that the president wants to "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar." The remark came as Trump flew with Harp on an Air Force One aircraft reportedly gifted by Qatar after a weekend at his New Jersey golf course.
Harp has been a near-constant presence around Trump, and some family members and reporters have portrayed the relationship as unusually close. Her estranged brother has described the bond as "very unhealthy," according to published reports.
“She is sort of his Binkie, for lack of a better way of putting it—his comfort blanket,” New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said. / Evan Vucci/Reuters
Reporting in the book Regime Change by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan cites accounts that early in his second term Trump told staff Harp "was the only one who loved him as much as his wife and his kids," and that Harp left affectionate notes for him in his personal spaces.
The aide’s proximity to Trump was highlighted when reporting said she was among a small group of aides who accompanied the president on a military flight out of Turkey after he left the primary Air Force One in a catering truck amid what was described as an Iranian threat. Other senior officials reportedly remained on a decoy aircraft.
Haberman told MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff that Harp likely provided comfort to Trump during the covert exit from Ankara. "She is sort of his binkie, for lack of a better way of putting it—his comfort blanket," she said.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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