Donald Trump’s White House apparently didn’t have anything better to do this weekend than go after a reporter for pointing out that one of the president’s closest aides was traveling with him in Ireland.
The White House social media team lashed out at independent journalist Aaron Rupar after he posted a photo of Natalie Harp during Trump’s Ireland trip.
“Look who made the trip to Ireland! #TravelWithNatalie,” Rupar wrote, using a hashtag he has repeatedly used when documenting Harp’s appearances alongside Trump.
That seemingly innocuous post was enough to set off the White House’s Rapid Response account.
“President Trump does, in fact, travel with staff,” the account wrote. “Aaron, on the other hand, is a sick, deluded freak (in his 40s) who sits behind a keyboard and posts creepy things like this.”
Rupar responded with a jab of his own.
“I know being in my 40s makes me too old for the president but I’m at peace with it,” he wrote.
The bizarre exchange comes as Harp has received an unusual amount of attention because of her extraordinarily close working relationship with Trump.
Harp, 35, serves as an executive assistant to the president and has become a near-constant presence around him. She has been described inside Trump’s orbit as the “human printer” because she carries a portable printer and supplies him with hard copies of news stories, social media posts and other material.
The Washington Post reported last month that Harp was also among a small group of aides who secretly accompanied Trump during a plane switch in Turkey amid a potential Iranian assassination threat.
More recently, newly released financial disclosures revealed that Trump gave Harp a $45,000 cash gift for the holidays last year.
She wasn’t the only aide to receive one. Two other White House employees received $45,000 gifts as well, while Oval Office operations director Walt Nauta reported a $20,000 gift. Harp and the other $45,000 recipients each earn $150,000 a year from their White House positions.
The White House says the payments were simply holiday gifts and had nothing to do with the aides’ official duties. Ethics experts have questioned whether such large payments to federal employees raise legal or ethical concerns.
Harp’s unusually close proximity to Trump has also drawn attention because of reports about the personal notes she has written to him and the extent of her role in managing the information he sees.
The White House has pushed back aggressively against coverage of Harp, while Republicans have accused the media of unfairly focusing on a young female aide. Democrats, meanwhile, have used the reports to criticize Trump and his administration.
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff helped thrust Harp into the political spotlight earlier this summer when he mocked Trump for allegedly being more interested in “traveling with Natalie” than carrying out his presidential responsibilities. The comment prompted an angry response from Trump’s allies and further attention on Harp.
And now even mentioning her presence on a presidential trip can apparently trigger a White House attack.
Trump spent the weekend in Ireland, where he visited his golf resort in Doonbeg and attended the Irish Open.
Melania Trump skipped the trip to Ireland entirely. So Harp greeted the president of Ireland in her place.
That simple fact was enough to turn one reporter’s post into another White House-versus-the-media confrontation.
It’s a familiar pattern in Trump’s second term.
The administration has imposed new restrictions on the White House press corps, including tighter controls over where reporters can move and how assignments are handled. The Pentagon has also been embroiled in a major dispute with news organizations over access and the publication of information.
Trump himself has repeatedly clashed with reporters, sometimes demanding to know which outlet they represent before deciding whether to answer and, on other occasions, personally insulting journalists during public appearances.
But the latest episode is notable for just how little it took to provoke a response. And in the process, the White House managed to put even more attention on the very person it was trying to defend.
