Topline
Natalie Harp and two other aides received $45,000 each from President Donald Trump as cash gifts for the holidays, financial documents filed by the White House showed, in a disclosure that comes amid increased scrutiny about Harp’s role in the president’s inner circle.
White House aide Natalie Harp, listens as President Donald Trump speaks and announces action to help farmers and ranchers with meat processing.
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Key Facts
Aside from Harp, Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Chamberlain Harris and White House Communications Advisor Margo Martin each disclosed a $45,000 cash gift from Trump.
The filings don’t mention any other details about the gift, although Harris’ filing lists the president’s address as Washington, D.C., while Harp and Martin mention Palm Beach, Florida.
The gifts were in addition to the $150,000 annual salary each earns, according to publicly available White House personnel salary documents.
What Has The White House Said About The Gifts?
In a statement on X, the White House’s Press Office said the president has a “longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit,” both in government and during his time in the private sector. The statement noted that the gifts have nothing to do with the three aides’ “official government duties” and said they are “entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.”
What Do We Know About Harp?
Harp’s role at the White House and her closeness with the president has come under major scrutiny in the past few weeks. Her role came under focus after Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., made a viral speech attacking the president and mentioning Harp by name. Speaking at a campaign event, Ossoff said Trump doesn’t want to do the job of president. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.” The dig about the plane came after it was revealed that Harp, one of the people who accompanied Trump when the president was secretly moved from the older Air Force One jet to a smaller plane while departing Turkey in July amid fears of a threat from Iran. Harp is a former host for the right-wing broadcast outlet One America News Network, and she is frequently seen accompanying Trump. Her work in the president’s 2024 campaign earned Harp the nickname “human printer” as she would hand Trump printouts of news articles and social media posts. Harp also reportedly types a lot of Trump’s Truth Social posts as he dictates them to her.
further reading
Natalie Harp Seen Everywhere With Trump Lately—Why That’s Raising Questions (Forbes)
Natalie Harp Worked At White House For Over A Year Without Security Clearance, Report Says (Forbes)
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