One of President Donald Trump’s closest aides appears to have taken on a powerful new role after Republicans’ brutal midterm night.
Executive assistant Natalie Harp seems to have taken over the president’s personal cellphone and is now deciding who gets to speak with him, The Independent reported Wednesday.
For months, the White House has bragged about how easy it is for reporters to reach Trump, with members of the press corps able to dial his phone and land quick interviews at virtually any hour.
That appears to have changed. Several journalists told The Independent that calls placed to Trump’s known personal number over the past two days were picked up by a young woman who insisted on knowing who was on the line. The Independent said it ran into the same thing Tuesday night as election results poured in.
When Politico’s Dasha Burns rang Trump during an election night livestream, the person who answered was caught on tape asking who was calling. The Independent reported that the voice sounded identical to Harp’s, comparing it with a recording of her 2020 Republican National Convention speech.
A veteran White House reporter told The Independent a young woman picked up his recent call and only connected him after Trump heard him give his name and said he would take it.
According to The Independent, the screening seems designed to spare Trump awkward conversations with reporters as his approval ratings sink to new lows, with Harp making those calls “apparently at her discretion.”
It’s a sharp break from Trump’s longstanding habit of answering his own phone, something he and his staff have touted as proof he’s more accessible than past presidents.
Harp’s grip on what reaches the president has reportedly been tightening for some time. Multiple outlets have reported that she repeatedly put far-right activist Laura Loomer in touch with Trump despite pushback from senior staff, and that she drove his September decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.
According to reports noted by The Independent, Harp has in recent weeks reportedly traded her desk outside the Oval Office for a spot in his private dining room, and she was the person to whom Trump dictated his 1,300-word tirade against Bill Maher.
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