Natalie Harp, the 35-year-old special assistant to the president, is not a household name for most Americans — but she has become one for cable news bookers and Twitter commentators in the past month. The media coverage has been intense, and according to a new column in American Thinker, much of it has crossed a line from legitimate reporting into something far more personal.
The piece, written by M. Walter, is titled “Plucking Natalie Harp,” and it argues that the institutional left is “the most misogynistic blob of humans ever to walk the earth.” That’s a strong opening, but Walter’s case is built on a series of specific, documented attacks on Harp that have come from major outlets and a sitting senator.
Harp, a Christian conservative who has been in Trump’s orbit since 2019 and close at his side since 2022, is described by Walter as “a remarkable young woman.” She survived what could have been fatal bone cancer and credits President Trump’s support for the Right to Try law with saving her life. She hauls two laptops, four cell phones, and a portable printer for a president who prefers paper to screens. Last month, she was among a small group of aides who accompanied Trump on a secret flight out of Turkey — and that’s when the coverage exploded.
A 5,000% Spike in Search Interest
Walter notes that Google searches for Harp’s name have spiked 5,000%, which the column attributes to nonstop cable and print coverage. Citing data from Grabien transcripts via Fox, the piece reports that Harp’s name has been mentioned at least 86 times on MSNBC since the previous Monday, and CNN has mentioned her 132 times in the same period. That’s the kind of wall-to-wall scrutiny usually reserved for cabinet secretaries or, as Walter puts it, “the usual print and cable suspects.”
The column argues that this coverage has not been neutral. Walter points to The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman, who reportedly referred to Harp as Trump’s “binky” — a reduction of a professional aide to a comfort object. The Daily Beast ran a story alleging that first lady Melania Trump is “locked in a secret power struggle” over her husband with Harp, citing speculation from anti-Trump author Michael Wolff. Rolling Stone declared in a headline, “Nothing About Trump and Natalie Harp Is Normal,” while Forbes went with the more suspicious-sounding, “Natalie Harp Seen Everywhere With Trump Lately—Why That’s Raising Questions.”
A Senator Joins the Fray
The most pointed attack came from Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia. According to the column, Ossoff insinuated that President Trump is having an inappropriate relationship with Harp, saying the president just wants to “build a ballroom and travel with Natalie.” Ossoff added that “no one cares” about the “sycophantic” Harp’s feelings. Walter calls this a “disgustingly misogynistic display” that sounds awfully “war on women-y.”
CNN’s Brian Stelter, who Walter calls “the human potato,” reportedly referred to Ossoff’s viral remark as a “victory.” That casual endorsement of a senator mocking a staffer’s personal life is, in Walter’s view, emblematic of a media culture that treats young women in politics as fair game for personal attacks in a way that would be unthinkable for a male aide.
McCain’s Take
The column also elevates a critique from an unlikely source: Meghan McCain, former co-host of The View. Walter says she’s “no fan” of McCain, but praises her for calling out the hypocrisy.
“The egregious sexist attacks on Natalie Harp are absolutely insane — and they’re coming from prestigious journalists. What is wrong with everyone?!” McCain posted on X. “Every president has close aides and sometimes they are females. Like what year is this?! Should women never go into politics?!”
McCain’s point is pointed: close presidential aides have always existed, and many have been women. The question is whether the coverage of Harp would look the same if she were a male aide carrying the same duffle bag of printouts.
A Broader War on Women?
Walter’s column steps back to place the Harp coverage in a wider context, arguing that the left’s stance on gender has become incoherent. The piece references the 1970s feminist movement — bra burning, “I am woman, hear me roar,” the Equal Rights Amendment — and compares those earlier feminists to today’s “AWFLs” (Affluent White Female Liberals), who Walter says have raised a generation of women who follow their mothers’ lead but have abandoned any consistent defense of women’s interests.
The column singles out the left’s support for transgender rights — specifically allowing “XY-men pretending to be XX-women” into women’s private spaces and sports — as evidence that the left’s feminism is selective. “From bathrooms to basketball courts the message is clear,” Walter writes, arguing that these same women who once fought for female-only spaces now cheer for their erasure, all while attacking a young woman like Harp for her appearance and her proximity to power.
“I am woman hear me roar seems rather quaint and innocent now,” Walter writes. “Not shaving their armpits is clearly the least disgusting thing about these new ‘feminists’ and their brethren. They’re hateful. Misogynistic and hateful. And they have millions of Democrats cheering them on.”
The Question of Motive
The column’s core accusation is that the media’s coverage is not about journalistic inquiry — it’s about tearing down a woman who is young, attractive, conservative, and close to a president the press despises. Walter points to the fact that reporters have gone so far as to interview Harp’s estranged brother as evidence of how far the vultures are willing to go.
Whether you agree with Walter’s framing, the coverage itself is now part of the story. A presidential aide’s name being mentioned 132 times on a single network in a week is not normal coverage — and when that coverage skips policy and heads straight for personal speculation, it’s fair to ask what’s driving it.
As McCain asked: “What year is this?”
This article is based on an opinion column originally published at American Thinker.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/plucking-natalie-harp/