By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-26 16:00:43 | Updated at 2024-11-28 05:31:46
1 day ago
Donald Trump is furious at the New York Times for a report claiming those in the president-elect's circle were uncomfortable with one of his aide's outwardly fawning devotion to her boss.
The report this week from Maggie Haberman sparked Trump to call the journalist a 'third rate writer.'
He demanded the outlet apologize to its readers for its years of covering him 'wrong.'
Natalie Harp, a 33-year-old aide, penned devotional missives about Trump last year that showed an almost Christ-like devotion to the former and future commander-in-chief.
Haberman's Monday report details that the fawning letters from Harp, nicknamed the 'human printer,' were 'unnerving' to other members of the president-elect's staff.
'You are all that matters to me,' Harp wrote in one of the letters. 'I don't ever want to let you down.'
The former anchor for the right-wing One America News Network called Trump her 'Guardian and Protector in this life.'
In another letter she told Trump that she wanted to get back to 'that synergy' she used to have with him, where 'we'd talk about everything and nothing.'
Donald Trump's called New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman a 'third-rate writer' in his latest attack on the journalist
Attack came after Haberman wrote that Tump aide Natalie Harp (left) 'unnerved' other staffers with her fawning letters about the president-elect. Pictured: Trump invites Harp to speak at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. in 2019
'I want to bring you joy,' she wrote, 'to feel like we can get through a day without ever having to talk 'work.''
Harp - who had no official title at Trump's 2024 campaign - is expected to have an outsized role in the Trump 2.0 White House.
The NYT published its report by Haberman on Monday detailing how others in Trump's circle viewed Harp's letters.
'Will the failing New York Times apologize to its readers for getting years of 'Trump' coverage so wrong,' the president-elect wrote on Truth Social in response to the report. 'They write such phony 'junk,' knowing full well how incorrect it is, only meaning to demean.'
'Magot (sic) Hagerman, a third rate writer and fourth rate intellect, writes story after story, always terrible, and yet I almost never speak to her,' he added. 'They do no fact checking, because facts don't matter to them. I don't believe I've had a legitimately good story in the NYT for years.'
Harp was branded the 'human printer' after lugging around a portable printer and a battery pack in order to provide Trump with print-outs of information he requested.
But The Times reported that Harp didn't act as a gatekeeper - instead furnishing Trump with information from websites like Gateway Pundit, known for pushing conspiracy theories online.
The newspaper also wrote that Harp was used for settling scores.
Natalie Harp, 33, wrote to her boss in a series of letters where she told Trump, 'you are all that matters to me'
Harp is constantly at President-elect Donald Trump's side, including on the golf course. She carried around a mobile printer and a battery pack to ensure he got the print-outs of information he requested
'When people seeking influence with Mr. Trump want to turn him against their rivals, they send damaging clips to Ms. Harp, knowing she will pass them along, unvetted,' The Times said.
She entered the president-elect's orbit after crediting him with saving her life.
Harp is a bone cancer survivor and has credited the Right to Try law Trump signed in 2018 with saving her life, as it gave her access to experimental treatments.
Some experts have called into question whether that specific law can be credited, as she's claimed.
Trump loved the story and invited Harp to speak on his behalf at the 2020 Republican National Convention, which was held in Washington, D.C. amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Natalie Harp credited Trump with saving her life after he signed a Right to Try law in 2018. Harp was suffering from bone cancer and said the law allowed her to pursue a successful experimental treatment
The 'human printer' nickname came about because Harp would lug around a portable printer and a battery pack in order to provide Trump with print-outs of information he requested - often allowing him access to websites that spread conspiracy theories
Natalie Harp joined Trump's communications team in 2022, when he wasn't fully out of the political doghouse in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack. Now she's poised to have an extremely influential White House role
She did some work for the campaign that cycle, before joining the right-wing One America News Network, where she echoed Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud costing him reelection.
Harp joined Trump's communications team in 2022, when Trump was still in the political doghouse in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack.
Since then, she is almost always at Trump's side.
In a documentary about the 2024 race, Harp is seen typing out dictated social media posts, as Trump watches Vice President Kamala Harris' Democratic National Convention speech.
She was with him throughout the Stormy Daniels hush money trial and is a companion on the golf course.
For Trump the devotion is seemingly mutual, with The Times reporting that he once scoffed that Harp is the only aide who truly cares about him, after he was arraigned in the Fulton County, Georgia case.
