Natalie Harp, a senior White House aide who now serves as Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President, insisted on accompanying Donald Trump to court after saying that Trump had personally asked her to attend. According to CNN, there was a logistical problem: There was no passenger seat for her.
The episode unfolded in October 2023, as Trump’s motorcade prepared to leave Trump Tower for a courthouse in Lower Manhattan during his New York civil fraud trial. Staff members realized there was not enough room in the vehicles for Harp, CNN reported. What followed, according to CNN’s Kristen Holmes, was a “screaming match” in the lobby of Trump Tower.
Harp maintained that Trump had personally asked her to go. When the argument did not produce a seat, CNN reported, she got into the trunk, or rear cargo area, of one of the SUVs in the motorcade. Holmes described the space as “almost like a cargo hold.” CNN reported that Harp sat there for the trip to court.
CNN initially described the account as based on multiple sources and later referred specifically to two sources. Holmes also said that she had obtained and reviewed a photograph showing Harp sitting in the rear of the vehicle. CNN’s underlying sources were not publicly identified.
Three years later, Harp holds two White House titles and, according to The New York Times, works out of the Oval Office. The White House’s July 2026 personnel report lists her as both Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President, with an annual salary of $150,000.
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