I Worked for Trump. The Natalie Harp Saga Isn’t Surprising.

The Bulwark · collected 2026-08-26 · by Sarah Matthews commentary
Read the original at The Bulwark ↗

Summary

The article is an opinion piece written by someone who used to work for Donald Trump, expressing their non-surprise at the recent controversy surrounding his aide Natalie Harp. The writer recounts anecdotes of Trump's eccentric behavior, including having his staff steam his pants while he wore them and asking aides to join a membership program. They imply that these stories are indicative of the unusual professional arrangements that Trump fosters in his workplace. No specific numbers or details about the relationship between Trump and Harp are mentioned beyond the writer's personal anecdotes.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-26, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
20%
2 of 10 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
expected in commentary, which argues a position
Publisher trust
not scored
Commentary is not rated for newsroom trust
Outlets on this story
5
Politics
Narrative spread
12
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-08-26 · how these are computed

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story summary

Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old Californian and cancer survivor, has become one of Donald Trump's closest and most devoted aides, working as his special assistant to the president and executive assistant on an annual salary of $150,000. She was introduced at the 2020 Republican national convention as "a formerly forgotten American from California" and compared Trump with George Bailey from the film "It's a Wonderful Life". Harp has been in the spotlight recently after Jon Ossoff, a Democratic senator, accused Trump of wanting to "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie" instead of attending to official duties.

Harp has been nicknamed the "human printer" for supplying Trump with print-outs of information. However, her role in the administration has come under scrutiny, including reports that she was smuggled onto a military plane with Trump to escape a suspected Iranian threat and sat in the trunk of an SUV to accompany him to a courthouse in 2023.

Trump reportedly joked that Harp could replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, but this has raised questions about her security clearance. It was discovered that Harp worked at the White House for over a year without the routine clearance, refusing to file the relevant forms until the White House counsel's office intervened.

Harp has also been criticized for writing letters to Trump expressing her devotion to him, calling herself "unworthy" of serving him. Michael Wolff, an author who has written about Trump, revealed that Harp was granted a special perk when she first joined his team - access to an exclusive Sunday buffet at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Written for “Natalie Harp Aide Scandal” on 2026-08-31, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Score -0.35 Confidence high
Leaning score -0.35 for article 2561 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-27

Story

📰 Natalie Harp Aide Scandal
Politics · 5 article(s) covering the same event.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 20% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent World
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 2 of 24 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles describe the same incident, specifically Natalie Harp's special perk and her letters expressing devotion to President Trump, which happened on the same day.”
The Independent World
⚖️ Centre further right than this 🔴 20% hedged 3 of 15 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles mention Natalie Harp and President Trump's comment/joke, suggesting they are reporting on the same incident”
US news | The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 23% hedged 7 of 31 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on Natalie Harp's lack of security clearance and her eventual paperwork, suggesting they cover the same incident”

Publisher

The Bulwark · 35 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected

Commentary. The three signals behind a trust score all measure a newsroom's record with its own reporting, so they are not computed for this source. How trust is scored.

No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Sarah Matthews
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 IT SEEMED LIKE ALL ANYONE COULD TALK ABOUT over the last few days was President Donald Trump’s relationship with his 35-year-old aide Natalie Harp.
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Bulwark+ to JVL Scottish The Bulwark

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Bulwark+ to ORG · 1× Catherine Rampell PERSON · 1× Harp PERSON · 1× JVL ORG · 1× Natalie Harp PERSON · 1× Scottish NORP · 1× The Bulwark ORG · 1×

Narrative

A subscription gets you: - Unlimited access to articles and newsletters including The Triad by JVL and Receipts by Catherine Rampell. - Ad-free editions of our shows (with transcripts) and member-only shows like The Secret Podcast. - Plus community chats and commenting features.
framing: assertive · carried by 12 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-24
🔮 IT SEEMED LIKE ALL ANYONE COULD TALK ABOUT over the last few days was President Donald Trump’s relationship with his 35-year-old aide Natalie Harp.
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I Worked for Trump. The Natalie Harp Saga Isn’t Surprising. · assertive framing
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True Confessions of a Sports Dad · assertive framing
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The 2028 Democratic Primary Is Quietly Raging · assertive framing

Claims (10 extracted, 2 hedged)

IT SEEMED LIKE ALL ANYONE COULD TALK ABOUT over the last few days was President Donald Trump’s relationship with his 35-year-old aide Natalie Harp. uncertain
ANYONE → seem → aide
She’s constantly pictured near him, senators apparently text her to get messages to the president, and what we hear about the relationship is simply strange. asserted
hear → picture → relationship
That’s to say nothing about the uncomfortably obsequious letters she penned to Trump. asserted
she → ’ → Trump
But as much as people are focused on the odd power dynamics and eyebrow-raising personnel decisions, this is also a story about the peculiar professional arrangements that Donald Trump fosters. asserted
Trump → focus → that
I know because I lived in them. asserted
I → know → them
Long before Harp sprinted down the fairways of a Scottish golf course in an effort to catch up with Trump’s motorcade, I heard plenty of stories about the absurd lengths people went to for “the boss.” asserted
people → sprint → boss
Staff reportedly steamed his pants while he was still wearing them. uncertain
he → steam → them
Trump would also ask aides to Join Bulwark+ to unlock the rest Become a paying member of The Bulwark to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content. asserted
Trump → ask → post
A subscription gets you: - Unlimited access to articles and newsletters including The Triad by JVL and Receipts by Catherine Rampell. - Ad-free editions of our shows (with transcripts) and member-only shows like The Secret Podcast. - Plus community chats and commenting features. asserted
subscription → get → Podcast
Your support helps keep our work sustainable and available to those who cannot afford a membership. asserted
who → help → membership
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