Here's what Jon Ossoff said about that 'Natalie' comment going viral
- Jon Ossoff went viral for a comment about Natalie Harp ealier this week.
- "It's been amazing to watch this White House meltdown over this all week," Ossoff said on MS NOW.
- Ossoff, a Democratic Senator from Georgia, is up for reelection this fall.
Sen. Jon Ossoff addressed his viral comment about President Donald Trump's aide Natalie Harp in an Aug. 19 interview.
Ossoff, a Democratic senator from Georgia, took aim at Trump at a campaign rally in Atlanta on Aug. 16 in a clip that was shared far and wide on social media.
"He doesn't want to do the job," Ossoff said in the viral moment. "He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar."
The woman he referenced was Trump's aide Natalie Harp. The week before the rally, reports came out that Harp, 35, was among a small group of aides to join Trump in a secret plane swap in Turkey after a possible threat on the other Air Force One plane.
Harp has stuck in the news cycle in the past week: her estranged brother spoke to CNN. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman called her Trump's "binky ... a comfort blanket." Of course, Ossoff's comment had a role in it too, though he received some backlash from conservatives who called his comments sexist.
"It's been amazing to watch this White House meltdown over this all week," Ossoff told Lawrence O'Donnell on MS NOW's "The Last Word" on Aug. 19. "About Natalie Harp, these White House staffers are adults, public officials paid by the taxpayer with immense power in positions of public trust. ... No one cares about their feelings."
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in response to Ossoff's recent comments praised Harp for her loyalty and hard work. He also criticized Ossoff's record, calling him "a feminine theatre kid."
"Lightweight Jon’s rhetoric is cringeworthy, but his extreme voting record is dangerous," Ingle said in an emailed statement.
Trump calls Jon Ossoff ‘Pee-Wee Herman’ in ongoing dispute
Trump was asked about the “Natalie” comment in the Oval Office on Aug. 17.
“You mean Pee-Wee Herman? Pee-Wee Herman look-alike? No, I would much rather do other things,” Trump said before going on to talk about the ballroom.
It is a name he has thrown at the senator before, while campaigning for Ossoff’s Republican challenger in the November midterm election, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins.
Ossoff was elected in 2020 in Georgia in what was a large political shift for Democrats in the Southern state. Former President Joe Biden also won the state, which would become central in Trump's efforts to challenge the election results. Ossoff's reelection in Georgia is key to Democrats' hope to flip the Senate.
"Jon Ossoff and the Democrat communists want to let the Marxists into power, bankrupt your families and leave you totally independent with wide open borders. But we will not let that happen to our country," Trump said in a July 22 speech in the state.
Ossoff has gone viral several times in his attacks against Trump. While campaigning with Sen. Mark Kelly on Aug. 18, Ossoff called Trump a "draft-dodging, crook president." Ossoff has been floated as a 2028 presidential candidate, but has said he is not interested in running.
Talking about the standout "Natalie" comment on MS NOW, Ossoff went on to talk about more of his critiques of the administration.
"They have lied us into war after promising peace. They've driven inflation skyrocketing, thrown people off their health insurance ... and the president's done so, enabled not just by hangers-on and sycophants in the White House, but also by Republicans in Congress who have enabled him at every turn," Ossoff said.
Who is Natalie Harp?
Natalie Harp, 35, is Trump's executive assistant and one of the most visible figures in the president's inner circle. Harp, a former television presenter for One America News Network, graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2012 and received an MBA from Liberty University in 2015, according to Vanity Fair.Harp first gained national attention after crediting Trump's "Right to Try" law with helping her access an experimental treatment for bone cancer, according to Forbes. She spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and later worked on Trump's 2024 presidential campaign before joining the White House as executive assistant at the start of his second term.
Harp has become known in Trump circles as the "human printer," a nickname tied to her habit of carrying a portable printer and battery pack so she could provide the president with physical copies of information wherever he traveled.
She has also been linked in reports to some of Trump's most controversial social media activity through her access to his Truth Social account.
Contributing: Irene Wright, Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.