Melania Trump's spokesman has publicly defended Donald Trump's aide Natalie Harp, dismissing media speculation about the nature of her close working relationship with the president. Marc Beckman told broadcaster Stella Escobedo that "the liberal media is ridiculous" for scrutinising Harp rather than covering the first lady's achievements, and accused outlets of prioritising gossip over substantive reporting on the first family.

Harp, 35, has earned the nickname the "human printer" for constantly accompanying Trump with a portable printer, supplying him with paper copies of news articles and social media posts throughout the day. Scrutiny of her role intensified in August after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff suggested at a rally that Trump would rather "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie" than focus on his duties, a reference to Harp being among the few aides kept close to Trump when he switched to a decoy jet in Turkey amid an assassination threat from Iran, while senior officials including Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent remained on the original aircraft.