Natalie Harp, Trump's 'Human Printer' Aide, Draws Scrutiny After Senator's Viral Speech

WASHINGTON —

Natalie Harp, one of President Donald Trump's closest aides, found herself unexpectedly in the news this week after Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, name-checked her in a speech that went viral, according to Guardian US Politics. The 35-year-old, often called the "human printer" inside the West Wing, is known for typing out Trump's Truth Social posts and standing near him during Oval Office meetings and travel, BBC US & Canada reported.

A Path From Cancer Patient to Trump Confidante

Harp grew up in California in a conservative Christian family and first gained attention by crediting Trump with saving her life, according to BBC US & Canada. During his first term, Trump signed the Right to Try Act, which expanded access to experimental treatments for some patients. Harp used the law while fighting bone cancer after she said clinical trials had turned her away, BBC US & Canada reported. She told the 2020 Republican National Convention, "When I failed the chemotherapies that were on the market, no one wanted me in their clinical trials." She said Trump had given her the right to try experimental treatments and that "without you, I'd have died waiting for them to be approved."

Trump later called her convention appearance memorable, saying "she lit up the television screen like very few people I have ever seen do it," according to BBC US & Canada. After Trump lost the 2020 election, Harp worked as a host at the conservative network One America News, where she promoted false claims that Trump had won, before leaving in 2022 to join his next campaign, the network reported.

'Gatekeeper,' 'Comfort Blanket'

Harp's official title, executive assistant to the president, typically describes a junior role handling scheduling and logistics, according to BBC US & Canada. But she has taken on a far larger presence than past holders of the job, frequently appearing steps from Trump in the Oval Office and on Air Force One, the network reported. Sources described her to BBC US & Canada as a "gatekeeper" and a "comfort blanket," with one saying her presence is "literally, always" there. Journalist Maggie Haberman told the network MSNOW that Harp is "sort of his binky, for lack of a better way of putting it."

Ossoff's speech referenced reports that Harp was among a small group who joined Trump when he secretly switched planes while leaving Turkey last month, after officials said they had received information about a threat from Iran, according to BBC US & Canada. The White House called Harp a "trusted and valued" member of the team and pushed back angrily on X after a CNN reporter asked Trump about the senator's remarks, the network reported.

Harp's brother, Preston Harp, told CNN this week that Trump embodies values their mother instilled in them, adding that his sister had been fixated on the White House since childhood.