NewsMacroRick Wilson Says Natalie Harp Is a Sign of Trump’s Decline

Rick Wilson Says Natalie Harp Is a Sign of Trump’s Decline

Author: Rawstory·

Key Takeaways

  • Rick Wilson, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, argued on the organization's podcast that Trump's bond with aide Natalie Harp mirrors a historical leader-staff relationship that foreshadowed a regime's end.
  • Harp joined Trump's White House staff in his first term after working as a commentator at One America News Network and became known for following him with a portable printer displaying favorable news coverage.
  • A bone cancer survivor, Harp has publicly credited Trump's 2018 Right to Try law with saving her life and returned to serve as an aide in his second term.
  • Wilson's comments come as recent national polls show more Americans disapproving than approving of Trump's job performance.
  • Personal letters from Harp to Trump surfaced in the media, drawing wide attention for their effusive tone and renewed focus on her place in his inner circle.
Rick Wilson Says Natalie Harp Is a Sign of Trump’s Decline

President Donald Trump’s relationship with his aide Natalie Harp may be approaching a perilous end, former GOP strategist Rick Wilson said Sunday.

Wilson, the founder of the anti-Trump organization The Lincoln Project, said in a new episode of The Lincoln Project Podcast that Trump’s relationship with Harp, whom some have described as his “human binkie” and his “printer,” resembles the dynamic between another world leader and a staff member. Wilson said that earlier relationship signaled the end of that leader’s reign, and he argued that Harp’s presence now reflects a similar moment for the Trump administration.

The Lincoln Project, which Wilson co-founded with other anti-Trump Republicans in late 2019, built its profile with searing ad campaigns against the president and remains a prominent conservative voice opposing him.

Harp first joined Trump’s White House staff during his first term after working as a commentator at the conservative channel One America News Network, and she became known for following the president with a portable printer so she could show him favorable news coverage on demand, a practice widely linked to the ‘printer’ description. A bone cancer survivor, she has publicly credited Trump’s Right to Try law, a 2018 measure allowing terminally ill patients access to experimental treatments, with saving her life, and she returned to serve as an aide in his second term.

“Folks, Harp is a symptom of the dictator in decline,” Wilson said. “Not the Eva Braun, but more the Traudl Junge,” referring to Adolf Hitler’s personal secretary.

“She is the last seeming true believer standing next to him,” Wilson said. “She’s earned her place in the Trump pantheon by being the absolute unconditional ‘Yes, I love you, Mr. President.’ The doe eyes, the adoring stare, the maniacal need to be in his presence.”

Junge was hired in the final years of Hitler’s rule and typed his final political statements and legal will before his death. In her memoirs, she wrote that she felt guilty for having played a part in the Third Reich, even though she had previously claimed to be unaware of the horrors the regime was committing.

Wilson said he sees a similar dynamic between Trump and Harp.

His framing comes as national polls in recent months have shown more Americans disapproving than approving of Trump’s job performance.

“I do think the relationship is so intertwined with the failure of Trump, with the collapse of his popularity, with the depths to which he is now sinking in the minds of the American people, that he needs to concentrate the love he once felt from the MAGA horde into one person,” Wilson said.

He added that the relationship should “really bother” people, particularly after the contents of some of Harp’s personal letters to Trump surfaced in the media. The letters drew wide attention for their effusive tone and put a fresh spotlight on her place in the president’s inner circle.

“All this cuckoo town stuff,” Wilson said.