BREAKING NEWS: A resurfaced clip from 2019 has resurfaced, adding more insight into President Donald Trump’s relationship with one of his closest aides, Natalie Harp. The clip shows Trump calling out to Harp from on-stage as he scans the crowd for her. “Are you here, Natalie. Where’s Natalie? Will you come up here, please? Come up, Natalie,” the president said. He leaves the podium to greet her with an outstretched hand for a handshake, but instead Harp leans in for a kiss on the cheek.
Body language expert Judi James told The Mirror US that the footage “casts a very different light on the relationship between these two.” “Currently Harp is in a more lowered state with Trump, constantly performing beauty-pageant smiles while keeping tuned into his every move, word and behavior to look like a dedicated PA/right-hand woman,” James said. “Here though her non-verbal signals suggest less of a compliant state and more of a young woman who looks ambitious and keen to get into the spotlight to project her own message with energy, power and confidence,” she continued.
James suggested that after the greeting with Trump, her eagerness to reach the podium revealed her underlying motivation. “Harp’s speed of movement suggests the lectern and the spotlight are her real goals here,” she said. “She shows status by patting Trump before greeting her audience with the outstretched arms of a keen stage speaker.” “Harp looks captivated by her audience to the point where her ‘thank you’ to Trump is said over her shoulder in a casual ritual,” she continued.
Spotlight on Natalie Harp’s Role
Harp has been put in the spotlight in recent weeks as critics have questioned her role in the White House and her relationship with Trump. On the campaign trail in Georgia this week, Sen. Jon Ossoff accused the president of wanting to focus on the construction of the White House ballroom and “travel with Natalie.” The aide has served as executive assistant to the president since January 2025.
A former TV host, she joined Trump’s communications team in 2022 and quickly became a familiar face accompanying the president on his regular golf outings. She was reportedly among the small group of staffers moved with Trump to a separate aircraft following a “credible threat” at the NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey last month.
The Washington Post reported the president was observed boarding the jet before being secretly transported with a handful of aides aboard a smaller Air Force C-32A. She beat out top cabinet members, including Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who traveled on the decoy plane, while Harp remained on board with the president.