Natalie Harp stowed in trunk of SUV when Trump’s motorcade had no space for her: report

The estranged brother of Natalie Harp, Donald Trump’s doting aide, struggled to contain his laughter when told of the reported lengths his sister went to accompany Trump to a court hearing.

Preston Harp initially burst out laughing when CNN’s Erin Burnett asked for his reaction to the network’s report that his sister jumped into the trunk of an SUV when there wasn’t space for her to ride in Trump’s motorcade on the way to a court hearing in New York City in October 2023.

The network reports that a “screaming match” took place in the lobby of Trump Tower after there was no room for Natalie Harp in the motorcade. The aide reportedly insisted she had been asked by Trump to attend the hearing, but with no seat available, she climbed into the trunk of an SUV, according to sources and a photograph seen by CNN.

“That's really funny, I didn't know about that,” Preston Harp told CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront through laughter.

Burnett then asked him, “You're laughing, but I mean, is it funny or what? You know her, so that's why...”

“No, it’s not, I'm sorry, it’s actually sad,” Preston Harp added. “That’s obsession. That’s like an unhealthy obsession with someone if you’re going to jump into the trunk of their car.”

Natalie Harp’s estranged sibling, a Trump critic , also detailed more about his upbringing with his sister, claiming that his mom believed in American exceptionalism.

“Trump is like everything that my mom taught us to respect,” he said. “I think that's where her infatuation with Trump comes from, honestly.”

The reported trunk incident is another example of Natalie Harp’s devotion to the president, which has “unnerved” some of her White House colleagues, according to The New York Times.

She has come under the spotlight this week, with multiple reports detailing how she became one of his most trusted supporters . The executive assistant is often seen by the president’s side, having cultivated a close working relationship since she first came to Trump’s attention in 2019.

She joined Trump’s staff in 2022, having claimed he “saved her life” after she was diagnosed with stage II bone cancer. She hit the headlines earlier this month when it emerged she was one of a small number of aides who were transferred to a military plane in Turkey to avoid a suspected assassination threat by Iran .

One unnamed White House advisor told CNN that Trump “likes the attention and the fact that she is 100 percent committed and loyal.”

“She doesn’t second-guess, doesn’t question,” the advisor said of Natalie Harp, who has also reportedly earned the nickname of “human printer” for handing the president hard copies of social media posts and newspaper articles.

Democratic senator Jon Ossoff drew further attention to Natalie Harp this week after suggesting at a rally Trump would rather fl y with “Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace” than do his job.