Meet Natalie Harp, the aide so close to Trump she once rode in an SUV boot to accompany him

It was October 2023, and Donald Trump was due at a New York City courthouse to fight his latest set of legal troubles.

But as the motorcade idled outside his Trump Tower residence, staffers confronted a more immediate problem: There wasn’t room for Harp, the hyper-loyal aide whose devotion to Trump had quickly entrenched her within his orbit.

A screaming match in the lobby ensued, with Harp insisting that Trump had personally asked her to attend the court appearance, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Denied a seat but determined not to be left behind, Harp jumped into an SUV boot, according to the two sources and confirmed by a photo obtained by CNN.

The episode, which has not been previously reported, served as an encapsulation of the role Harp has carved out in recent years as a constant and intensely dedicated presence at Trump’s side.

Her methods have irked senior aides and at times prompted efforts to box her out of the president’s inner circle, according to multiple sources who described the dynamic to CNN.

A former right-wing television host, who began working for Trump after crediting him with saving her life, Harp has become a main conduit between the president and the outside world, passing along messages from allies and setting up meetings, tapping out Truth Social posts and toting printouts of laudatory articles, all while staying in close physical proximity at all hours of the day.

“[Trump] likes the attention and the fact that she is 100 per cent committed and loyal,” one White House adviser told CNN.

Harp’s relationship with Trump came under fresh scrutiny this week after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff mentioned her by name in a now-viral speech attacking Trump.

The Georgia senator swiped at the president’s “travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar”, a reference to her joining the president — along with a very limited group — when he secretly boarded a smaller aircraft to leave Turkey due to a threat from Iran in July.

The comment spurred outrage from the White House, which repeatedly labeled Ossoff a “cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid” and “lightweight loser” — as well as rampant attention online.

Harp’s rapid rise within Trump world has stood out in large part because of the intensity of her dedication to the president since joining his staff in 2022.

Despite having no formal title on Trump’s reelection campaign, Harp trailed him across the country, feeding him positive stories, social media posts and other correspondence so frequently that allies dubbed her the “human printer”.

Illustrating how she’s become indispensable to Trump, one Republican lawmaker noted that while they occasionally reach out to the president directly, they always make sure Harp is aware.