Trump confidante Natalie Harp receives $45,000 Christmas bonus, sparking legal debate

Natalie Harp, Trump's personal assistant. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP / dpa

From Washington | By Hansjürgen Mai

Natalie Harp, a young blonde woman, is one of U.S. President Donald Trump's closest confidantes. She has achieved what many heads of state and government regularly fail to do: build a close, trusting relationship with the president. She is expected to work seven days a week, often late into the night. She rarely speaks yet is always present.

Now, it has been revealed that she received a one-time payment of $45,000 from Trump as a Christmas gift. Other White House employees also received monetary gifts.

Potential Legal Violation

A lawyer told The Washington Post on Wednesday that the gifts may have violated applicable law, as government employee salaries should not be supplemented through extra payments. The White House press office stated that the payment was unrelated to Harp's duties.

The "Human Printer"

Interest in Harp, who feeds the president important information, exploded weeks ago when it was reported that she was among the few placed in an airplane catering container with the president. This was necessary to secretly fly Trump and his staff out of Turkey amid a looming Iranian attack. Other top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, remained on the plane.

This raised the question: Who is the woman Trump saved from a possible attack?

Harp's role in the White House is to provide the president with content and important information — to convey what the world outside Washington thinks about him.

According to insiders, her nickname is "the human printer" because she follows the president with a portable printer to give him printed information. New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reported that Trump declared Harp was the only one who would love him as much as his wife and children do. All his other employees would eventually leave to make money, Trump reportedly said, but Harp would never leave. However, the Washington press corps agrees that the two cannot be said to have a sexual relationship.

Background and Connection to Trump

Harp, 35, grew up in a religious family in California. She and her older brother were homeschooled by their mother. She later attended two religious universities. But her connection to Trump goes beyond politics and work.

According to Harp, Trump saved her life. When she developed bone cancer nearly ten years ago, a law signed by Trump in 2018 gave her access to experimental treatments. These treatments saved her, she explained in 2019.

She then worked for several years as a news anchor for the ultra-right-wing network One America News, where she promoted the lie of the "stolen election" in 2020. According to her, Trump is the rightful winner of the U.S. presidential election six years ago — a claim Trump regularly repeats to this day. There remains no evidence to support it.

Unrestricted Access

How great Harp's influence truly is remains unknown. She has worked for Trump since 2022. But her access to the president appears almost unrestricted.