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CNN goes fishing for a Trump scandal — and reels in Natalie Harp’s estranged brother

by

BS BULLETIN

  • CNN’s Erin Burnett interviewed Natalie Harp’s estranged brother Tuesday as scrutiny of the Trump aide intensified following Sen. Jon Ossoff’s suggestive campaign attack.
  • Preston Harp described his sister’s devotion to Trump as unhealthy but explicitly said he did not believe her attachment was physical.
  • The broader story has now grown well beyond Ossoff’s original remark, with major outlets examining Harp’s unusual access and influence inside Trump’s White House.

Apparently we’re doing Natalie Harp Week.

What began with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff tossing a suggestive line into a campaign speech has now blossomed into a full-scale media examination of President Donald Trump’s 35-year-old executive assistant — complete with CNN interviewing her estranged brother about whether his sister is physically attracted to the president.

Yes.

We have arrived there.

CNN’s Erin Burnett brought Preston Harp onto OutFront Tuesday evening as the media frenzy surrounding his sister continued to expand.

Preston and Natalie are estranged. Nevertheless, Burnett asked him about Natalie’s attachment to Trump and whether he believed there was a physical component to it. “I don’t think it’s a physical attraction,” Preston responded. He described his sister instead as the president’s ultimate admirer and said her attachment to Trump reflected political beliefs and values she had held for years.

So after all the buildup, CNN’s investigation into whether Donald Trump and his female aide are secretly something more produced… Her estranged brother saying he doesn’t think so. Stop the presses.

The latest frenzy began Sunday when Ossoff, campaigning for reelection in Georgia, attacked Trump over his handling of the Iran war and contrasted the sacrifices of American sailors with what Ossoff portrayed as the president’s luxurious lifestyle. Then he added Natalie Harp. Ossoff said Trump would rather build his ballroom and travel with Harp than focus on governing.

The reference immediately raised eyebrows because Harp has increasingly been the subject of stories examining her extraordinary proximity to Trump. Ossoff’s wording was widely interpreted by Trump supporters — and plenty of others — as carrying a personal insinuation about Harp’s relationship with her boss.

The White House exploded. Trump mocked Ossoff. White House officials unloaded on the senator. And when CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes subsequently asked Trump about Harp in the Oval Office, Trump dismissed the question and called Holmes “fake news” and “disrespectful.”

The White House’s Rapid Response account then escalated the fight by personally attacking Holmes and even referencing her children — prompting CNN to defend its reporter. So what began as an Ossoff campaign line became a Trump-versus-CNN fight.

And then the media went looking for Natalie Harp. Enter Preston Harp. He told Burnett that he believes his sister has an “unhealthy obsession” with Trump, but his description was considerably more complicated than the salacious version implied by all the breathless attention.

Preston said Natalie’s admiration for Trump goes back to beliefs formed during their upbringing and described her as someone who had long been interested in presidents. He recalled her writing to President George W. Bush as a teenager during the Iraq War. When asked about the idea that Natalie was “infatuated” with Trump, Preston rejected the notion that it was sexual. He described it as ideological devotion. That doesn’t exactly provide the Monica Lewinsky sequel some corners of the internet appear determined to manufacture.

There are legitimate journalistic questions about Natalie Harp. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Harp has become an unusually powerful gatekeeper in Trump’s orbit, handling his social-media communications, controlling information flowing to the president and providing access to people trying to reach him. She has been called the “human printer” because of her practice of supplying Trump with printed articles and other material. Republicans interviewed by the Journal praised her loyalty, while Democrats questioned her influence.

Those are fair questions. But there is a rather large distance between examining the professional influence of a presidential aide and calling her estranged brother onto national television to discuss whether she’s physically attracted to her 80-year-old boss.

The smear has become the story. The most revealing development may actually be happening inside the Democratic Party. Axios reports Wednesday that Ossoff’s Natalie Harp line has triggered a larger discussion among Democrats about whether the party should adopt a more Trump-like, bare-knuckles style of political combat.

Some Democrats apparently loved it. Former Obama strategist David Axelrod praised Ossoff’s willingness to fight, while other Democratic figures are reportedly more cautious about embracing a style based on increasingly personal attacks.

Now we’re getting somewhere. Because that’s what this episode is really becoming. Not evidence of a Trump-Harp affair. There isn’t any. It’s a political test balloon.

Can Democrats beat Trump by talking like Trump? Can they make insinuations, mock opponents personally and generate viral moments that force the opposition onto defense? Ossoff tried it. And boy, did he get attention.

Within 48 hours, a single name dropped into a campaign speech had generated an entire media ecosystem.

Mission accomplished, apparently.

But there remains one stubborn little problem. Where is the evidence that the insinuation everybody keeps dancing around is actually true? None of the latest reporting reviewed by The Daily BS establishes a romantic or sexual relationship between Trump and Harp. In fact, the family member CNN brought on television specifically rejected that interpretation.

MY QUICK TAKE

Ladies and gentlemen, CNN has apparently entered its National Enquirer phase.

We’ve reached the point where a United States senator drops a little wink-wink line about a female White House aide and the next thing you know Erin Burnett is interviewing the woman’s estranged brother about whether Sis has the hots for Donald Trump.

This is CNN.

The Most Trusted Name in:

“So, Preston… do you think your sister finds the president attractive?”

And after all that fishing, Preston basically says:

Nope.

Outstanding work, everybody.

But here’s what bothers me about this. Natalie Harp is a grown woman with a serious job in the White House. If she’s wielding extraordinary influence over the president, investigate it. If she’s controlling access to Trump, report it. If she’s making policy decisions she has no authority to make, find out. That’s journalism.

But if the big scoop is that she is a younger woman who spends a lot of time around an older male boss, therefore nudge-nudge-wink-wink… What exactly are we doing here? Because I distinctly remember being informed for about 30 years that suggesting a successful woman got where she is because of a man was sexist.

Apparently CNN’s subscription to feminism expired Tuesday at 7 p.m.

And poor Preston Harp. Imagine being estranged from your sister and suddenly CNN calls:

“Hello, Preston? Erin Burnett here. We’d like to discuss your sister’s possible infatuation with Donald Trump on national television.”

There isn’t enough Thanksgiving stuffing on Earth to fix that family dinner.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

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