Topline
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., doubled down on his comments invoking Trump aide Natalie Harp to criticize the president, telling MS NOW on Monday Harp is among a cadre of White House aides who are Trump’s “security blanket to make him feel good about himself.”
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., questions Jay Clayton, nominee to be director of national intelligence, during Clayton’s Senate Select Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Key Facts
Ossoff was asked by MS NOW why he mentioned Harp over the weekend during a rally where he accused Trump of not wanting to perform the duties of the president and instead “travel with Natalie” and participate in other frivolous activities, such as building a new White House ballroom.
Ossoff said he invoked Harp as she’s been photographed with Trump repeatedly in recent months, raising questions about her role and influence.
Ossoff said he has heard Harp “referred to as [Trump’s] security blanket,” adding that “the West Wing is full of sycophants who tell [Trump] what he wants to hear and enable him” and “so is the United States Congress.”
Crucial Quote
“He doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace, gifted by the Emir of Qatar,” Ossoff said Sunday during a speech in Atlanta.
Chief Critic
Trump on Monday attacked Ossoff as a “Pee-wee Herman look-alike” when a reporter asked him about the senator’s comments regarding Harp. Trump didn’t comment on Harp directly. The White House attacked the reporter who asked the question, CNN’s Kristen Holmes, writing on X, “Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling.” CNN defended Holmes in a statement, writing, “personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of the free press. We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms.”
Tangent
Ossoff’s comment about Harp is among multiple viral criticisms of Trump during his re-election campaign that have garnered national attention, raising speculation that Ossoff might run for president in 2028, a prospect he has repeatedly dismissed, insisting he’s focused on his Senate race. Ossoff is competing against Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., in the November election, and he’s favored to win in most polls, though Georgia is considered a toss-up state. Trump won Georgia by a slim margin in 2024, but narrowly lost to Joe Biden there in 2020.
Key Background
Harp’s frequent presence around Trump was called into question when she was among a select group of aides who accompanied him on a secret flight out of Turkey to evade alleged threats from Iran, while other cabinet officials, journalists and aides were unknowingly left on a so-called “decoy” Air Force One flight. Harp has been a figure in New York Times’ reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s reporting on the dynamics of Trump’s staff. The two made her a prominent example in their book “Regime Change” of how Trump allegedly surrounds himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear and cater to his impulses. They reported in 2024 that Harp is behind some of Trump’s most incendiary social media posts, typing them up as Trump dictates them and pressing the button to post them without any outside vetting. She was coined the “human printer” during Trump’s 2024 campaign because she allegedly followed Trump around and printed off articles and social media posts she thought would interest him, raising concerns among some other staffers because she sourced some of her news from conspiratorial sites and presented Trump with overly favorable information about himself, the Times reported previously. Haberman on Sunday described Harp as Trump’s “human binkie” in an interview with MS NOW.
further reading
Natalie Harp Seen Everywhere With Trump Lately—Why That’s Raising Questions (Forbes)