Are Trump’s phone calls now being screened by his constant companion Natalie Harp?

Journalists trying to phone President Donald Trump's personal mobile over the past two days say a young woman now picks up and asks who is calling, suggesting his executive assistant Natalie Harp has taken over screening his calls. The shift matters because the White House has long advertised the president's easy availability to reporters, and because it arrives as his approval ratings sit at a low point and Republicans suffer heavy losses in the midterm elections, according to The Independent.

The Independent says it got the same treatment Tuesday night. A recording from Politico's election-night live stream captured Dasha Burns being asked her name, and the voice resembled Harp's from her 2020 Republican National Convention speech. One veteran White House correspondent said his call went through only because Trump heard him speaking and told the woman to connect him. Trump had previously been known for answering his own phone.

The change fits a pattern of Harp shaping what Trump reads and hears. She is nicknamed his "human printer" for handing him favorable coverage, has reportedly moved into his private dining room, and is said to post on Truth Social for him.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →