President Donald Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House is being blamed on the rising influence of two of his most polarizing aides, executive assistant Natalie Harp and housing finance chief Bill Pulte, according to a Daily Mail report.
Both in their mid-30s, Harp and Pulte have become the aides most often at Trump’s side just before his most inflammatory moves, and White House insiders told the Mail they fear the president is especially prone to impulsive decisions when the two devotees are in his ear.
“The White House is no man’s land right now,” one insider told the outlet. “Karoline Leavitt would have never let this happen.”
The concern points to a shrinking inner circle. Press Secretary Leavitt left at the end of August to spend more time with her young children, and insiders say she often talked Trump out of rash moves against the press. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was in Florida for medical appointments when the ban was announced Friday, and was not involved in the decision. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman has described Trump’s circle narrowing to a handful of constant companions, saying that over the summer at his Bedminster resort “it was like Natalie Harp and Walt Nauta and Bill Pulte showing up at the golf course over and over again.”
Harp’s role in the ban is well documented. Just before Trump posted the crackdown, she showed him a slate of critical coverage, including a Politico graph that reportedly infuriated him, according to CNN and the Wall Street Journal. Known as the “human printer” for the portable printer she carries to feed Trump favorable clips, Harp is the aide who often publishes his social media posts after he dictates them, and she has ruffled feathers by acting on his directives without checking with the chief of staff or communications office.
Pulte, nicknamed “Little Trump,” has earned rare access, flying on Air Force One at least four times since August and pitching the president policy ideas on weekends, sometimes with a poster board. One source in the Mail report was blunt: “I haven’t determined if he is a fool or if he is nefarious.”
The White House rejected the characterization. “Every member of this team is valued,” spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said. “Director Pulte, Ms. Harp, and the rest of the team are doing a phenomenal job.” Neither Harp nor Pulte responded to requests for comment.
The ban has since triggered lawsuits from the three outlets and an overnight court order temporarily lifting it. But the deeper worry among Trump’s own staff, the insiders say, is that with Leavitt gone and Wiles often away, the people closest to the president when he picks a fight are the ones least inclined to stop him.
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