Natalie Harp, assistant to POTUS Donald Trump, outside of the White House (AP Photo)There has recently been an unusual amount of attention on Natalie Harp, a relatively little-known but highly trusted aide to US President Donald Trump. Harp has been close to Trump for years, frequently travelling with him and helping manage the information he sees and the posts he puts out. So why has she suddenly become a subject of political controversy?The answer lies in a remark by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff — and in the furious response it provoked from the Trump administration.Harp, 35, grew up in California and graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University, a Christian liberal arts college in San Diego, in 2012. She then earned an MBA from Liberty University, an evangelical university in Virginia, in 2015.Natalie Harp, executive assistant to Donald Trump (Wikimedia Commons)She first came into national prominence because of her experience with cancer. In 2019, Harp wrote a LinkedIn post titled “I’m Living Proof – the Party of Healthcare is Trump’s”, describing her battle with bone cancer and crediting Trump’s 2018 Right to Try law with helping her new treatments.The Right to Try law allows terminally ill patients to access experimental treatments that have passed only Phase 1 safety testing, without needing the FDA’s approval. She said Democrats focused more on living with pain and ‘dying with dignity’ than cure. “According to the Democrats, healthcare is a right. But a right to what — all of the above? No, thank you. Donald Trump would change a letter of that. Healthcare is a fight,” she said in her post.This attracted the attention of Fox News, which invited Harp to discuss her experience. Trump subsequently praised her publicly. She was then invited to speak at the 2020 Republican National Convention, where she told Trump: “I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for you.” A later Washington Post report questioned whether the treatment she received could actually be attributed to the Right to Try law, with experts disputing the timeline.How did she get so close to Trump?After her appearance at the Republican convention, Harp moved deeper into Trump’s political orbit. She and her mother left California for Florida, close to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. In 2020, she joined One America News Network, where she worked as a presenter and promoted Trump’s claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. She left OANN in 2022 and began working directly for Trump.Story continues below this adDuring Trump’s campaign to return to the White House, she became known among colleagues as the “human printer”. According to The New York Times, she followed Trump with a portable printer and battery pack, supplying him with printed news and information because he prefers reading things on paper.Today, Harp is officially a special assistant to the president and executive assistant to the president, with an annual salary of $150,000, according to The Guardian. She is frequently at Trump’s side and is involved in his communications, including showing him proposed Truth Social posts and publishing material on his account.Why is she in the headlines now?Her proximity was highlighted last month when Trump secretly switched aircraft in Turkey because of an alleged Iranian assassination threat. Harp was among the small group of aides who accompanied him on the military plane, while other staff and journalists remained on the plane supposedly at risk.The issue blew up after comments by Ossoff. At a campaign speech recently, the Georgia senator accused Trump of preferring to “build his ballroom and travel with Natalie” rather than doing his job as President.Story continues below this adThe Trump administration reacted furiously. Trump attacked CNN reporter Kristen Holmes when she asked him about Ossoff’s comments, while the White House’s “Rapid Response” account accused Holmes of asking a “disgusting and inhumane” question.Political analysts believe that Ossoff’s rather provocative comments were meant to get him limelight and increase his profile. The Trump administration’s response seems to have had that exact effect, with more limelight on both Harp and Ossoff.