Ираны заналхийллийн улмаас ерөнхийлөгчийн аюулгүй байдлыг хангах хүрээнд Турк улсаас хэрэгжүүлсэн нууц нислэгийн үеэр АНУ-ын ерөнхийлөгчийн зөвлөх Натали Харп олны анхааралд өртлөө.
Натали Харп нь ерөнхийлөгчийн Truth Social цахим хуудсыг хөтлөх, түүний үйл ажиллагаанд туслах үндсэн ажилтнуудын нэг юм. Долдугаар сард Иранаас ирэх болзошгүй аюулаас сэргийлэх зорилгоор ерөнхийлөгчийг цэргийн онгоцоор шилжүүлэн суулгах ажиллагааг зохион байгуулах үед тэрээр хамт явсан цөөн тооны ажилтны нэг байв. Энэхүү ажиллагааны улмаас бусад албан тушаалтан болон хэвлэлийнхэн “хуурамч” Air Force One онгоцонд үлдсэн нь улс төрийн шүүмжлэлийг дагуулсан юм. Сенатор Жон Оссофф энэ үйл явдлыг эсэргүүцэж, ерөнхийлөгчийн ажлын хариуцлагатай холбоотой байр сууриа илэрхийлжээ.
Натали Харп нь 2019 оноос хойш олны танил болсон бөгөөд 2018 оны “Right to Try Act” хуулийг дэмжин ажиллаж ирсэн. Тэрээр өөрийн эрүүл мэндийн түүх болон ерөнхийлөгчийн бодлогын үр дүнг хэвлэлээр олонтаа онцолж байв. 2022 онд One America News Network-д ажилласны дараа ерөнхийлөгчийн багт нэгдсэн түүнийг “хүний хэвлэгч” хэмээн нэрлэх нь бий.
Түүний төрсөн ах Престон Харп Наталигийн ерөнхийлөгчтэй тогтоосон харилцааг “эрүүл бус” хэмээн тодорхойлж, шүүмжлэлтэй хандаж байна. Престоны үзэж буйгаар, Натали ерөнхийлөгчийг эцгийн дүрээр харж, түүний үзэл баримтлалд хэт автсан байж болзошгүй гэжээ. Харин Цагаан ордны зүгээс Натали Харпыг ерөнхийлөгчийн хамгийн итгэлтэй бөгөөд үнэнч ажилтнуудын нэг хэмээн өмгөөлсөн байр суурьтай байна.
Турк улсад болсон онгоц солих ажиллагааг ерөнхийлөгч өөрөө тайлбарлахдаа, энэ нь Нууц албаны (Secret Service) зааварчилгааны дагуу хийгдсэн аюулгүй байдлын арга хэмжээ байсан гэв. Тэрээр өөрийн сууж явсан онгоц илүү эрсдэлтэй байсан гэж үзэж байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн юм. Энэхүү ажиллагаанд Дан Скавино болон Уолт Наута нар мөн хамт явсан байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Donald Trump is known for surrounding himself with ardent loyalists, but one aide has attracted particular attention of late.
Natalie Harp, who is frequently seen with the president and reportedly helps run his Truth Social account, was one of the few people to join Trump on a military plane flying out of Turkey in July.
That secret flight was arranged to avoid a suspected Iranian threat against the president, but sparked backlash when it emerged Trump left other staff and journalists behind on a decoy Air Force One.
Democratic rising star Senator Jon Ossoff took shots at Trump over the incident in a rally speech Sunday, claiming the commander-in-chief would rather “travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace,” than do his job.
Below we look at what we know about Harp, and how she became one of the president’s supporters.
Who is Natalie Harp?
The 35 year-old Californian came to prominence in 2019, when she appeared on stage at a D.C. conference and praised Trump for signing the 2018 Right to Try Act.
Harp, who battled stage II bone cancer, claimed both the “political” and “medical establishment” had left her behind, but that “Good Samaritan” Trump helped her.
“He gave up his quality of life so we could live and work and fight with dignity – because he believes in survival of the fighters, not the fittest,” she said.
Trump later invited her to speak onstage at the 2020 Republican National Convention in favor of the act. Once again, Harp credited Trump’s health care policy with saving her life and even compared him to Jimmy Stewart’s character in It’s a Wonderful Life.
“I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for you,” she said.
Harp’s estranged brother Preston told The Daily Mail that the pair were homeschooled together and raised by an “extremely conservative” mother.
Eventually, Preston grew apart from his mother and sister but remained close with his father, who died in 2020, a month before Harp made the speech at the RNC.
The book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan looked at how Harp remained an ardent supporter of Trump between his presidencies.
She eventually joined his staff in 2022 following a stint hosting a show on One America News Network.
Helping with Truth Social
Harp is reportedly the primary White House staffer helping the president churn out posts on Truth Social.
The aide compiles posts from allies or fans praising the president, bolstering familiar conspiracy theories, condemning Democrats or insulting Trump’s opponents for the president to review, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Once Trump approves the content, via physically printed-out drafts, Harp goes onto the president’s Truth Social account and posts them – often during off-hours such as late at night, over the weekend or even on holidays, it is claimed.
To keep the president’s spirits up, Harp would carry around a laptop and sometimes a printer to physically show him articles, earning her the nickname the “human printer,” The New York Times added.
“She keeps everybody in a really good mood, and most importantly, she keeps the president in a really good mood,” Rep. Ronny Jackson, the president’s former physician, told Fox News Digital in 2024.
‘Father figure’ Trump and an ‘unhealthy’ relationship
Harp’s brother has been outspoken about her working relationship with the commander-in-chief, describing it as “very unhealthy” in an interview with The Daily Mail.
“She’s just like his fan club,” Preston Harp said in June, while describing Trump as a “national embarrassment.”
The sibling, who lives in Nicaragua’s capital Managua, told the newspaper he discovered that his sister was working for the president through a 2023 news article describing his assistant.
“I don’t understand why my sister, or anyone could want to work for Trump,” he told the publication.
In a separate interview with the Daily Beast in July, Preston Harp explained why he thought his sister was a supporter.
“I think that she does see Trump as a kind of father figure because he embodies the doctrine of American exceptionalism,” he said.
The support Harp, like other Trump staffers, has shown the president over the years has also won praise.
“No president has cultivated as much loyalty among their staffers and administration officials as President Trump; this is a testament to his commitment to our country and its people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai previously told The Independent.
“Natalie Harp is a beloved White House Official, and the Fake News Media will never understand what it’s like to be as trusted and admired as her.”
A secret plane swap in Turkey
During the incident in Turkey in July, several senior White House officials were left on a decoy Air Force One amid concerns over a possible assassination attempt.
Harp was reportedly one of a small number of staff who joined Trump in transferring to another plane using an airport catering truck.
Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff, and Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, also joined the second flight, a U.S. official told The Washington Post.
However Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were among those left behind on the decoy plane with the journalists covering the trip.
Trump went on to defend the decoy operation when details were revealed by The Post, stressing he was doing as he was told by the Secret Service.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
