She never takes a day off, not even on Sunday. She works out of the Oval Office and she’s got a regular seat on Marine One. She texts with world leaders on the president’s behalf. She stays up late with him drafting social media posts.
She rarely speaks on camera and yet she is never not there, ever-present with a wide smile and her eyes fixed on the president.
She is Natalie Harp, the 35-year-old West Wing aide who is the utmost gatekeeper to President Trump, a one-woman conduit of information operating entirely outside the usual chain of command. The public’s interest in Ms. Harp exploded after she was revealed last week to be one of the lucky few who joined the president inside an airplane catering container to be whisked out of Turkey under threat of attack by Iran.
She never leaves Trump’s side . . . no one knows what Melania thinks of this arrangement.
Earlier this year, Trump ignited a firestorm after posting and then deleting a racist video that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle. The late-night post prompted criticism across the political spectrum, sparking a series of damaging news cycles and forcing Trump and his aides to scramble to mount a defense.
Within Trump’s orbit, allies and advisers privately speculated that Harp was responsible for the post, as she was one of a small number of aides with access to Trump’s Truth Social account.
But they were reluctant to name her, one source told CNN. If they did, they worried the fallout would only further strengthen Trump’s support for Harp.