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Trump’s special perk for Natalie Harp shocked staffers, author claims

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Cite

Sommerlad, J. (2026, August 26). Trump’s special perk for Natalie Harp shocked staffers, author claims. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-natalie-harp-michael-wolff-b3039410.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-08-26 · by Joe Sommerlad

Quick Summary

Author Michael Wolff claims that President Trump's personal assistant Natalie Harp was granted special treatment when she joined the team in 2022, including access to an exclusive Sunday buffet at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The perk allowed her and her mother to attend the buffet, which other staffers were not permitted to do. Wolff says this favoritism raised eyebrows among fellow employees, who questioned whether Harp should have been given such privileges. According to Wolff, concerned staffers had tipped him off about Harp's letters to Trump, in which she expressed her devotion and feelings of inadequacy serving the president.
Written by AI on 2026-08-26, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old Californian who graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2012 and earned an MBA from Liberty University in 2015, is one of Donald Trump's closest and most devoted aides. She was introduced as "a formerly forgotten American from California" at the 2020 Republican national convention, where she compared Trump to George Bailey, a character from the classic film It's a Wonderful Life. Harp's official job title is special assistant to the president and executive assistant on an annual salary of $150,000.

After joining the White House in 2022, Harp attracted attention for her devoted letters to Trump and her constant presence by his side. She has been nicknamed the "human printer" for supplying him with print-outs of information. Recently, Trump reportedly joked that she could replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary.

Harp's relationship with Trump has raised concerns about security clearance, as it was reported that she worked at the White House without routine clearance for over a year. She eventually filled out the paperwork and was granted clearance after Trump became involved.

The scrutiny of Harp's role in the administration has also led to questions about her special perks, including access to an exclusive Sunday buffet at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her devotion to Trump has been described as "obsequious" by some, and her relationship with him has been compared to a "cult-like" dynamic.

Written for “Natalie Harp Controversy” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Natalie Harp Controversy
Politics · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 10 claims
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 7 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes a security clearance issue with Natalie Harp in August 2026, while Article B discusses her special perk and relationship with Trump from 2022 onwards.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3765 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Joe Sommerlad
73 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 They are expected to wield the powers of the congressional committees to launch probes into the president and his inner circle.
🔮 Trump may struggle to repeat that feat this time, with his full-throated endorsement of data centers and dismissive attitude towards affordability concerns much more likely to frustrate conservatives who expected more help from him.
🔮 President Donald Trump and his Republicans are about to get “trounced” in Tuesday’s midterm elections, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci has predicted.
🔮 President Donald Trump is facing a potentially disastrous midterms Election Day Tuesday, with his Republican Party set to lose its majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate too, according to current polling.
🔮 Some polls are open for Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections, which will decide majority control of Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
🔮 “Please stand firm against any directive that would undermine our constitutional right to a free and fair election.
🔮 The duo was the most resoundingly upbeat about the war in its earliest stages but neither has held a press conference since May.
🔮 A fresh round of polling data in the final hours before Election Day shows Democratic candidates leading virtually every battleground state that will likely determine which party controls the Senate.
🔮 President Donald Trump is set to deliver his “closing argument” to midterm voters at the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. - a site dogged by the administration’s botched repair job.
🔮 During a joint appearance on Fox 2 Detroit, Dingell said she had talked to Stevens on Saturday and been assured she was not about to change horses, only for Stevens to do precisely that, while McMorrow noted that the latter’s fiance had publicly backed Rogers and suggested he might have influenced her decision.
Also by Joe Sommerlad
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 73 articles by Joe Sommerlad →

Topics

Harp One America News The Daily Beast’s West Palm Beach White House

Subjects

Harp PERSON · 8× Trump PERSON · 8× Natalie PERSON · 5× Wolff PERSON · 4× White House ORG · 3× Michael Wolff PERSON · 2× Natalie Harp PERSON · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× One America News ORG · 1× The Daily Beast’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

Speaking to The Daily Beast’s Inside Trump’s Head podcast, Wolff – the author of several controversial books about the president, including Fire and Fury (2018) and All or Nothing (2025) – revealed that Harp’s being granted access to an exclusive, all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, was met with astonishment by her fellow employees.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-26
🔮 After the emergence of the letters, in which she also told Trump she felt “unworthy” of serving him, MS NOW reported that Harp had gone more than a year without securing the routine security clearance West Wing staffers are usually expected to obtain, raising concerns about what classified material she might have seen.
2026-08-26 · The Independent
Trump’s special perk for Natalie Harp shocked staffers, author claims · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

President Donald Trump’s personal assistant Natalie Harp enjoyed a special perk when she first joined his team that raised eyebrows among fellow staffers, according to author Michael Wolff. uncertain
that → enjoy → Wolff
Harp, 35, a former One America News anchor, has become a fixture at Trump’s side since 2022 and has recently attracted attention over the nature of their relationship after Wolff obtained a pair of gushing letters in which she expressed her devotion to him, writing: “You are all that matters to me.” asserted
that → become → me
Speaking to The Daily Beast’s Inside Trump’s Head podcast, Wolff – the author of several controversial books about the president, including Fire and Fury (2018) and All or Nothing (2025) – revealed that Harp’s being granted access to an exclusive, all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, was met with astonishment by her fellow employees. asserted
you → speak → employees
“The staffers... like, I mean, they get teary-eyed, their eyes roll back, because they’re actually not allowed to go to the buffet,” Wolff told the show’s co-host Joanna Coles Tuesday, emphasizing its bountiful, “over the top” spread, offering ham, lobster, omelettes and fresh fruit. asserted
Wolff → mean → ham
“Natalie was always allowed into the buffet,” he continued. asserted
he → allow → buffet
Among the staff there was like, ‘Is she allowed to do that? asserted
she → be → that
Should she be doing that?’ asserted
she → do → that
“And then the people at the golf club serving this: ‘Should we?... asserted
we → serve → this
She says that the president says she can be here, but can she be here?’ asserted
she → say → ?
That became... a major moment within the campaign: Natalie at the buffet.” asserted
That → become → buffet
Wolff told the same podcast last week that concerned staffers had tipped him off about Harp’s letters to the president. asserted
staffers → tell → president
“They were worried that this person, Natalie Harp, who was then 30 years old... no background whatsoever, had come to... take more and more and more of... candidate Trump’s attention, and become more and more central to what he knew, what he believed, the opinions that he had at any given moment asserted
he → worry → moment
,” he said. asserted
he → say → ?
Prior to their publication, Harp had already provoked media interest after it emerged she was one of the select members of the president’s entourage he had chosen to join him in being whisked away from a Turkish airport in July in a secret secondary plane – which he had boarded via a catering truck – after Iran made a threat against his life. asserted
Iran → provoke → life
While the likes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and the traveling press corps were left aboard Air Force One, Trump, Harp and fellow aides Dan Scavino and Walt Nauta escaped to the U.K. together before rejoining their colleagues to cross the Atlantic. asserted
Trump → travel → Atlantic
After the emergence of the letters, in which she also told Trump she felt “unworthy” of serving him, MS NOW reported that Harp had gone more than a year without securing the routine security clearance West Wing staffers are usually expected to obtain, raising concerns about what classified material she might have seen. uncertain
she → tell → material
White House spokesman Davis Ingle has told The Independent that Harp “is one of the most loyal and hardest-working aides on President Trump’s team.” asserted
Harp → tell → team
He has also attacked the journalist at the center of the storm, saying in a statement: “Michael Wolff is a professional scumbag and serial liar whose brain has been completely warped by his severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.” asserted
brain → attack → Syndrome
The focus on Harp has nevertheless been used as a stick with which to beat the president. asserted
focus → use → president
Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff said at a rally in Atlanta last week: “He doesn’t want to do his job. asserted
He → say → job
He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar. asserted
He → want → Qatar
Leavitt, Ingle and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung all attacked Ossoff, as did CNN’s resident conservative Scott Jennings, demanding that he apologize for the insinuating remark, but he has so far declined to do so. asserted
he → attack → remark
Trump himself angrily compared the senator to the 1980s children’s entertainer Pee-Wee Herman, leading Ossoff to stand back and admire the “meltdown” he had inspired. asserted
he → compare → meltdown
Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell has since followed suit, responding to Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario amid his trade feud with Canada by suggesting rechristening it “Lake Natalie” in Harp’s honor. asserted
Dingell → follow → honor
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