Presidential politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum.
In the absence of a clear frontrunner for the Democratic Party's 2028 nomination, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff has been pushed to the surface.
The Atlanta-born Ossoff, a young pup at age 39, is well-known for his feisty speeches on the stump and cutting remarks in high profile media interviews and at intimate donor events, impressing many in the party and in the media.
He has called his Senate rival, Republican Mike Collins, a 'scandal pinata' and a 'known bigot.' He has demeaned JD Vance as ineffectual vice president who has 'zero credibility as a champion for America's working class' and described the Trump cabinet as 'absolute clowns.'
But last weekend, the baby-faced rhetorical assassin might have gone too far in a direct attack on Donald Trump that divided the commentariat between malevolent mirth and shocked disapproval.
'While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings,' Ossoff told a crowd at a rally in Atlanta. 'He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn't want to do his job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.'
Natalie, as the whole political world and many others now know, is Natalie Harp, Trump's eye-catching 35-year-old aide, whose near-constant presence at the President's side, in the White House and on the road, has sparked gossip in Washington and prompted members of the press to remark on Trump's obvious reliance on and fondness for Harp, and her overt devotion to her boss.
With his comments in Atlanta, Ossoff dragged a young unelected public servant directly onto center stage. As conservative commentator Greg Price complained on X, 'Natalie Harp is President Trump's personal aide. It is, therefore, her job to be with President Trump a lot of the time.
In the absence of a clear frontrunner for the Democratic Party's 2028 nomination, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff has been pushed to the surface
With his comments in Atlanta, Ossoff dragged a young unelected public servant directly onto center stage (Picturedd: Trump aide, Natalie Harp)
According to extremely online leftists, this means that she must be sleeping with her boss. In most cases, you'd think a male Senator making a comment like that about a female staffer would be considered sexist, but I guess it's okay if it's the Democrat Party's new favorite mediocrity.'
The White House hit back with even stronger language. 'Natalie Harp is one of the most loyal and hardest working aides on President Trump's team,' said Trump spokesperson Davis Ingle. 'Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a s**t what this lightweight loser says.'
Ossoff had the opportunity to apologize or walk back his remarks Monday night on Jen Psaki's MSNBC program, but instead described Harp as Trump's 'security blanket.' Without visible remorse, Ossoff said Trump needed a team who would 'take their jobs seriously… I think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the White House. They're not telling him what he needs to hear. They're telling him what he wants to hear. And the nation is at war, and we cannot afford that.'
It remains to be seen if Ossoff's Harp remarks have changed the trajectory of his appeal in any meaningful way. But, at least for the time being, he's the talk of the Democratic half of town.
Elected to the Senate in 2020, Ossoff is now laser-focused on reelection campaign, a contest in which he holds a massive lead in fundraising and a solid advantage in the polls.
In his political career, Ossoff has managed a balance between classic golden-age Democrat and online, equity-conscious, pop-culturally savvy, egalitarian American Millennial. He is married to high school sweetheart and fellow Georgetown grad, Alisha Kramer, an Emory-trained OBGYN, and they have two little daughters, ages four and one.
His combination of passion and brio, his ability to move smoothly between the offices and living rooms of his civilian constituents and the boardrooms and salons of wealthy donors and power brokers, his sleek and graceful style, has been likened to the last Democratic star who caused buzz and swoons, Barack Obama.
Like Obama, Ossoff is a storyteller, no surprise for a man who began his career as a documentary film maker.
But he's more than a palatable central casting figure in a party still buffeted by turbulence following President Joe Biden's ignominious departure from office, Kamala Harris' dispiriting loss to Trump in 2024, internal party schisms over the state of Israel, and the bold, portentous rise of the Democratic Socialists.
For many members of the Democratic establishment, a large swathe that incorporates center, left-center, right-center, TikTok liberals, and old-school yellow dog Dems, Ossoff's personal skills and potential make him still a beacon of hope, a likeable, easy-on-the eyes Democrat with the skills to bypass a full second term in the Senate, leap into the presidential melee, and marshal their party back to the White House.
Politically, he has managed to express his opinions without triggering corrosive sustained damage from the more vocal elements of the au courant Democratic Socialists or the woke-weary Republican old guard, even as they fear his growing currency. While his Jewish heritage is not necessarily a plus in the current political environment, he is able to speak transparently and confidently about matters of culture, religion, and the complexities of the US-Israel relationship.
Like Obama, Ossoff is a storyteller, no surprise for a man who began his career as a documentary film maker
For many members of the Democratic establishment, a large swathe that incorporates center, left-center, right-center, TikTok liberals, and old-school yellow dog Dems, Ossoff's personal skills and potential make him still a beacon of hope
Mark Halperin is the editor-in-chief and host of the interactive live video platform 2WAY and the host of the video podcast 'Next Up' on the Megyn Kelly Network
Some political observers may push back on the Ossoff-Obama comparison. Many believe Obama was unique, transformational, unmatched in charisma, a candidate for his particular era, and that Ossoff is still green, tepid, unformed. Obama, famously eloquent and poised, was better able to insert digs and insults fluidly into his campaign speeches without triggering firestorms and outrage. Ossoff is low-key charismatic, whereas Obama was and is more like movie star charismatic.
Ossoff so far has been adamant that he has no intention of running for the presidency in 2028, and even has disdained the 2028 horserace talk generally. But that only brings to mind another Obama comparison, for good or ill, when, in January 2006, Obama assured Tim Russert on 'Meet the Press' he would serve out his six-year Senate term.
Obama: 'Absolutely... I will serve out my full six-year term'.
Russert: 'So you will not run for president or vice president in 2008?'
Obama: 'I will not.'
Ossoff is said to be concerned about the impact an Oval Office run - not to mention a victory - would have on his young kids (just like the Obamas did in 2008). But the Democrats are a party with no White House frontrunner.
He might want to focus on his reelection campaign, might want to put of any talk about 2028. Though, circumstances might create a strong force driving him into the fray.
Republican elites seem to deeply disdain Ossoff as much as they do any Democrat after the Harp remark. But many Democrats now see in the Georgian a fierce determination to go hard after Trump and his circle. And that trait has become the brass knuckles price of admission to the 2028 sweepstakes.
Ossoff is a very smart guy. He knows full well how much of the party now sees him as the 'It' candidate for the White House. He might genuinely want to avoid being tagged. But history suggests for both parties that when your 'It', you're it.
