White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was reportedly taken aback by the unusually close relationship between President Donald Trump and executive assistant Natalie Harp, according to accounts published by The Daily Beast and detailed in a new book by two New York Times journalists.
Trump has reportedly told members of his inner circle that Harp, 34, will “never leave” him. Harp has worked closely with Trump for years, managing documents and information for the president so frequently that she has been nicknamed “the human printer.”
Her responsibilities and influence have reportedly extended beyond printing articles and accompanying Trump during his daily activities. The Wall Street Journal previously described Harp as “the driving force” behind some of the inflammatory material posted to Trump’s Truth Social account.
Those posts reportedly included a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. An AI-generated image presenting Trump as Jesus was also shared and later removed from the platform.
Questions surrounding Harp’s relationship with Trump are addressed in “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” a new book by New York Times White House correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The book reportedly describes Harp as a deeply devoted aide who remained close to Trump after his first presidency, when he spent much of his time at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
“When Trump was in quasi-exile at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Harp joined him on the golf course and supplied him with a stream of positive news stories and social media comments,” The Beast reported.
Harp also reportedly wrote a series of personal letters to Trump. The president kept some of the letters in private areas, according to the book. One included the statement, “You are all that matters to me.”
Haberman and Swan also describe Harp’s enthusiastic response to changes Trump made to the décor at Mar-a-Lago. According to the authors, Trump repeatedly added gold decorations to a mantel and asked residence staff members for their opinions about the display.
“As the year progressed, he kept jamming more gold pieces onto the mantel,” Haberman and Swan wrote. “When Trump asked White House residence staff what they thought of the glittering display, most responses were muted, but his devout aide Natalie Harp would gush with delight.”
The account suggests that the dynamic between Trump and Harp stood out even among members of his closest circle. Wiles, a longtime Trump ally who later became his White House chief of staff, reportedly struggled to understand what she was witnessing.
“The situation was so bizarre that Trump’s future chief of staff Susie Wiles asked herself, ‘Where am I?’ according to Haberman and Swan,” The Beast reported.
Harp’s loyalty and access have made her a notable figure within Trump’s political operation. Her reported role in selecting or promoting material for his social media account has also raised questions about the influence of unelected aides over the president’s public communications.
The accounts from Haberman, Swan, The Daily Beast and The Wall Street Journal portray Harp as more than a conventional executive assistant. They describe an aide with close personal access to Trump, a strong influence over the information placed before him and an intense devotion that reportedly surprised even some of his most trusted advisers.