How Trump and a family death splintered the Harp family and pushed Natalie closer to MAGA

Preston Harp, the estranged brother of White House aide Natalie Harp, says a family rift over their father's death drove the two to opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Independent reports that Preston, 38, relayed his account to The Washington Post. He moved to Nicaragua and says he would give his life for the Sandinistas, while his sister has become a fixture around President Donald Trump.

According to Preston, their father, Bob Harp, 61, died by suicide in July 2020. Natalie, 35, and their mother, Jill Harp, wanted the cause kept private and told people he died in his sleep, but Preston chose to repeat what police had said. Relatives were forced to take sides, and the siblings have not spoken since. Neither Natalie nor Jill Harp has responded publicly. Preston says that seeing Natalie, a cancer survivor, address the 2020 Republican National Convention and credit Trump for saving her life moved him further left.

The White House has praised Natalie as one of Trump's most loyal and hardest-working aides, and spokesman Davis Ingle blamed the media for unfair coverage. Letters obtained by author Michael Wolff show Natalie telling Trump how deeply her father's death had weighed on her.

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