The Trump administration wasted no time firing back at a well-known liberal journalist after he zeroed in on a Trump staffer during the president’s overseas trip.
Journalist Aaron Rupar took to social media to spotlight Natalie Harp, an executive assistant to President Trump, after she was spotted joining the commander-in-chief on his trip to Ireland. Rupar shared a photo of Harp smiling in a green dress, tagging it with the hashtag “TravelWithNatalie.”
That did not sit well with the White House’s rapid-response account on X, which fired back within hours, branding Rupar a “sick, deluded freak” for what it called a “creepy” obsession with the aide. The account pointed out that presidents routinely travel with staff, and suggested Rupar, who is in his 40s, should find something better to do than sit behind a keyboard fixating on Trump’s team.
Rupar, undeterred, clapped back that being in his 40s apparently makes him “too old” for the president’s liking, but said he was at peace with it.
For context, Rupar has built a reputation as one of the most prolific accounts online for clipping and sharing footage of Trump and other political figures, reportedly logging as many as 80 hours a week monitoring the president’s every move. He’s been open about his disdain for Trump with his massive following online.
This isn’t the first time Harp has become a lightning rod. A Democratic senator recently stirred controversy by suggesting Trump would rather travel with Harp than lead the country, though the senator later clarified he wasn’t implying any impropriety, just that Trump surrounds himself with yes-men. Rupar has continued posting about Harp since, including claims about her carrying items for the president, always with his signature hashtag attached.
Meanwhile, Trump joked during a weekend speech that First Lady Melania Trump would have loved to join him in Ireland but skipped the long flight, quipping that she was “here in spirit.”
