Melania Trump's team has finally addressed rampant speculation regarding the close working relationship between United States President Donald Trump and his aide Natalie Harp.
Marc Beckman, the top spokesman for the First Lady, batted down the wild rumors swirling around the President and Harp during a television interview with host Stella Escobedo on Wednesday.
"The liberal media is ridiculous," Beckman told Escobedo.
"They don't know anything about the first lady's personal and private life. They don't even take the time to put us on air to cover these incredible achievements that our First Lady has accomplished."
The human printer
Harp, who is 35 years old, has become a highly visible figure in the current administration. She was dubbed the "human printer" for her role in accompanying the President with a portable electronic printer.
Her primary duty involves supplying Trump with physical paper copies of news articles as well as printed versions of social media posts throughout the course of the day.
"What they need to do is look in the mirror because they’re all attacking this hardworking, very talented, very intelligent person in Natalie Harp," Beckman added.
"And they're obsessed with the gossip with the first family. And I can tell you firsthand that it’s time for them to become journalists and stop looking at the gossip."
The bond between Trump and Harp became the center of national media attention in August. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who represents Georgia in the United States Senate, told a political rally that Trump would rather "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie" than do his job.
Assassination threat
Ossoff was referring to a specific incident when Harp was among a tiny handful of aides Trump kept beside him during a security emergency overseas.
The President slipped off Air Force One, the official military aircraft that carries the United States commander in chief, in Turkey and onto a decoy jet over an Iranian assassination threat.
Top Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, were left behind on the larger plane while Harp stayed with the President.
"The media doesn't know about the first lady's private life. Period. The media doesn't know about the first family's life. Period," the First Lady's adviser said.
"And what they do is they harp on the issues of gossip rather than going ahead and covering the substantial achievements that this First Lady and the President also have conducted during this past year and a half."
Inner circle concerns
During the Wednesday interview, Escobedo highlighted Melania Trump's efforts to support children in foster care and those who have aged out of the system, an initiative she has promoted during her time in the White House.
Aside from her policy initiatives, the First Lady has been seen out in public less than 50 times this year, according to a report by the Daily Beast news organization.
However, Harp has remained glued to Trump's side to the point that her constant presence has raised concerns within the Secret Service, the federal law enforcement agency tasked with protecting political leaders, and the President's inner circle.
The aide's devotion to the President was documented in a series of personal letters she wrote to Trump in 2023.
In one letter, Harp told him: "You are all that matters to me."
She also called him her "Guardian and Protector in this Life," according to the letters, which were reviewed by the New York Times.
Trump told people that same year that Harp was the only person on his political team who cared about him.
"All of you will go off and make money.. she'll never leave me," Trump said.
Cash gifts
The discussion of Harp's role comes as it was revealed on Wednesday that she was gifted $45,000 by the President, along with two other female aides.
Harp, 26-year-old Chamberlain Harris, and 31-year-old Margo Martin received $135,000 between them.
Each woman identified Trump as the source of a "cash gift for the holidays," according to a report by Politico.
The money came on top of their $150,000 salaries, which are paid by American taxpayers. The financial addition gave each woman a gift worth 30 percent of her annual government pay.
"The President has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including at times employees and aides, both in government and in his time in the private sector," a White House spokesman told Politico.
"The gifts at issue here have nothing to do with any of these individuals’ official government duties, and, therefore, are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards."
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House, Harp, Harris and Martin for comment.
