Dear Everybody:
The big news story of the day is also the weirdest:
Some background: A couple of days ago Dem Senator Jon Ossoff gave a barn burner of a speech about Trump in which, among a lot of other thing, he said that even though there was a war on and the economy was a mess, etc., Trump was only interested in playing golf, “building ballrooms and traveling with Natalie.” He meant Natalie Harp, his “human printer,” who follows him around everywhere printing out flattering stories about him for him to look at and puts his posts online for him. And who Trump took along with him when he fled Air Force One in a catering truck, even though he left behind lots of other people, including his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who quit two days later. The fact that Trump took Harp with him was why Ossoff mentioned her.
–And the entire Trump administration went NUTS! As one, they all attacked Ossoff and accused him of saying all sorts of things about Harp that he hadn’t said–remember, all he said was, “traveling with Natalie”–and clutching their collective pearls.
–It’s very clear that Ossoff’s comment struck a nerve–they are howling like a hit dog–but I still am not sure why. In some ways, it’s like if someone says to the room at large, “I think I know who the murderer is” and Trump responding, “How DARE you accuse me!”
–When this first started, I was somewhat bewildered over the fuss–it wasn’t as if people hadn’t known about Natalie before. I’d reported on her several times, most recently when Maggie Haberman’s book came out recounting how close she and Trump were and saying a LOT more than “traveling with Natalie,” and after the catering cart story, Haberman called Harp Trump’s “binkie” and “comfort blankie.” But now, days later, I’m COMPLETELY bewildered about what’s going on.
Anyway, here’s what’s happening:
–The Trump administration responded violently to Ossoff’s comment (in the process magnifying it and making it go viral. And also making it much worse than what Ossoff had actually said.
–Steven Cheung: “Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics. Instead of denigrating hardworking people serving their country, Jon should look deep into his soul and ask himself why he’s a miserable person who hates the country.”
–Scott Jennings: “This is quite a message for the Democrat Party to send to young women working in politics. Plenty of women? Pretty ugly stuff.”
–Marc Thiessen: “What a gross misogynistic thing to say. You owe this young woman an apology.”
–Ari Fleischer: “He’s a bottom feeder. Who does this and holds their head high? Who accuses women of behaving like that because he doesn’t like their boss. This guy should be ashamed.” (Anybody else remember how they all acted about Clinton and Monica Lewinski?)
–You’ll notice that they didn’t get mad about Ossoff saying Trump had messed up the war or the economy or the gas prices or anything substantive.
–Lee Ping: “Hilarious to see Trump/MAGA support talk about this being misogynistic. Next they are going to lecture us about corruption.”
–Ryan Cooper: “Amusing to see them attempt this move: “We’re all trying to find the egregious shithead pedophile president who destroyed any semblance of decency and propriety in public life.’”
–Heather Delaney Reese: “The pearls are being clutched so hard they’re turning to dust.”
–They also leaped to defend Natalie Harp, even though it’s well-known White House officials and the Secret Service have in the past wanted to get rid of her.
–GOP Rep Lee Zeldin: “Natalie Harper is an incredibly hardworking, talented, principled, and loyal member of the Trump administration who passionately wants to help our nation thrive. Every day, she brings drive and focus to her work serving our country. She’s truly a phenomenal member of POTUS’s team.”
–Ryan Cooper: “How DARE you imply that Donald Trump is screwing his hot blonde aide who is fifty years his junior and basically lives in his bedroom. He would NEVER cheat on his third wife, well, except for the time he did with a porn star and then bribed her to keep it quiet.”
–Steve Schmidt: “What precisely is the relationship? Is she a young Eva Braun, devoted to her Fuhrer? Is she more like a young Magda Goebbels? What is she exactly? Is she the equivalent of one of Putin’s secret mistresses? Is she our shadow first lady, or as has been described, a human binky, a printer?”
–Ron Filipkowski: “They’re really circling the wagons tonight on this. It’s all hands on deck. All he said was that they fly together a lot. Sheesh, these people are triggered. For some reason.”
–I Got Popcorn: “This is what the phrase, ‘Hitting a nerve,’ looks like.”
Because of all the coverage, new facts (and old) are emerging:
–The White House gave her money for a new wardrobe in case she was caught on film with Trump.
–The Secret Service and Susie Wiles have long wanted to get rid of her. When the campaign moved to Bedminister in 2023, they tried to force her out by not booking her a room. She went to the staff and got a maid’s room, but when that proved to be too far away from Trump (since he wanted her at his beck and call day and night) she spent the summer living in the women’s locker room.
–The Secret Service have said they consider her a potential danger to herself as well as the President.
–Trump’s advisers have compared her to Glenn Close in FATAL ATTRACTION.
–Eric Trump tried to get rid of her.
–On at least one occasion Melania was shocked to find her in Trump’s private quarters after hours.
–Harp wrote notes to Trump, calling him her “Guardian and Protector in this Life” and saying, “You are all that matters to me,” and “I want to bring you joy, to feel like we can get through a day without ever having to talk work.”
–Everyone who wants face time with Trump has to go through Natalie.
–And this afternoon CNN reported that Harp jumped into the trunk of an SUV in October of 2023 when Trump was due at a New York City Courthouse, determined not to be left behind after a public shouting match with Secret Service in the lobby of Trump Tower which was witnessed by reporters. Harp insisted Trump had personally asked her to go. CNN: “It just shows you how much she cares about President Trump and how she wants to be in proximity to him.”
–Commentator Paul Reickhoff: “It’s really concerning. I mean, it’s disconcerting. It’s troubling. I mean, the woman was in the trunk of a vehicle. I’m surprised the Secret Service allowed it.”
–Evvie’s D: “Imagine having Trump’s social media passwords as Harp does. It wouldn’t be hard for her to start a war. Harp is a walking national security atomic bomb.”
Meanwhile, Ossoff isn’t backing down on what he said (even though he didn’t say anything):
–Ossoff: “We’re in wartime. The Commander in Chief has mired us in this geopolitical disaster. People have lost their lives…and he retreats into this bubble of West Wing Aides who are his security blanket to make him feel good about himself.”
–The Bi of Hormuz: “Ossoff understands that he hit a nerve, and he’s going to just keep going.”
–Alex Barrett: “The shot seems to have landed. Well-played, Ossoff,”
–Rick Wilson: “The degree to which Ossoff put the White house into screaming panic mode over Natalie Harp is a thing of raw beauty.”
Theories about what’s going on are flying:
–One theory is that Harp is basically Trump’s nursing home attendant/wet nurse and that she’s the only one who can control him, and they’re worried if she goes they won’t be able to get him to go places and give speeches or any of the stuff he needs to do to keep up appearances.
–Friendly Skeleton: “The threat is she’s the only one who can keep him under control, and without her, he’ll stop showing up to work or lash out. This is why it matters to them.”
–Another theory is that Melania will be upset and think her husband’s cheating on her and file for divorce or something right before the midterms.
–BenchedButNotBroken: “Just now saw gossipy bits that Melania doesn’t like ‘sharing the stage’ with her.”
–Yet another one is that she’s a Russian spy acting as a honeypot to get information out of Trump and/or get him to do stuff.
–Shadow Bison: “Said it before. And will say it again. Female Rasputin. And we all know how that turned out to everyone involved, including the population of Russia.”
–My own theory is that they’re worried that this will make Melania mad and in revenge she will spill the beans on Trump’s Epstein activities.
–Some people think they’re doing this to create a diversion, but a diversion is supposed to be something that makes him look better, not worse. And it’s certainly not supposed to be something that have everyone discussing whether Trump is still capable of having sex, which over half of the comments about this do.
–Data4Miles; “Well. Just like the Epstein files. If they are freaking out, it’s because there is something they are hiding.”
–collie: “There’s gotta be some smoke here. They only used the ‘circle the wagons’ like this when Mueller reported information about Russia.”
In Other Trump Losing It news:
–Yesterday during an Oval Office event featuring a 10-year-old boy and the teenaged lifesaver who saved him, a reporter asked Trump if he had spoken personally to Kim Jong Un before drastically scaling back military exercises with South Korea, and Trump went completely apeshit.
–Trump: “Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. You’re very disrespectful in front of this young man, okay?” He then turned to the 10-year-old boy and said, “Don’t you find her disrespectful?” (The boy just stood there.) Trump: “He understands. Quiet. Who are you with?” Reporter: “Katie Holmes. I’m with CNN.” Trump: “Fake news. You’re fake news. You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news. Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet. You’re a fake reporter and you report fake news.”
–Holmes didn’t back down. She said, “I was trying to find out if you had been talking to Kim Jong Un, if he had asked you to scale back on those military exercises.” Trump: “BE QUIET!”
–After the press conference was over, the White House posted that Kristen Holmes is a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession. “Someday your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive.” (If you’re asking, “What disgusting and inhumane question?” you’re not alone. She asked a totally normal question, just like Ossoff made a totally normal comment, and the response is beyond over-the-top.
–Heather Delaney Reese: “This is Trump’s go-to play when he feels cornered and when he feels power slipping through his fingers.”
–So I guess the answer to Holmes’s question is yes. Kim Jong Un told him to scale back the military exercises, and Trump did what he told him. I’m just surprised he didn’t proudly admit it. He and Kim are such good friends.
–The reason I went into detail on this exchange is because it’s just like the one with Ossoff over Natalie Harp. Two times in two days when the reaction is wildly out of proportion to the event.
–Heather Delaney Reese: “What we all witnessed was yet another public viewing of his presidency collapsing.”
In Iran War news:
–Iran is done being on defense and have announced they’re going “fully offensive” and are considering pre-emptive strikes against the US and Israeli targets.
–According to the Wall Street Journal, Iran is threatening to attack undersea internet cables in the Middle East and possibly send a ground raid into Kuwait.
In other Iran war news:
–Thursday Iran attacked two UAE ships in the strait.
–Trump told Iran to “raise the white flag of surrender.”
–Trump announced: “There are no talks or conversations going on or scheduled with Iran. The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”
–Trump has continually claimed that the talks were ongoing and that they were just about to cut a deal. Just the day before, Jared Kushner said that the Trump administration was having very positive and active conversations with Iran, “more robust than it’s maybe ever been. We are having very positive and active communications.”
–Journalist Garrett Haake: “White House messaging on Iran is a mess today.”
–International Crisis Group’s Deputy Program Director Ali Vaez: “Tehran has drawn a simple lesson from every game of chicken with Washington. Hold your nerve long enough, and America swerves first.”
–In even worse news, NORTHCOM’s deputy commander is warning that the US can’t defend against a drone swarm on American soil.
–And Trump is claiming that everything on board our ships is fine, just fine. He claimed the USS Lincoln is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.”
In economic news:
–Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed today that Democrats’ “foolish green energy policies are at least as responsible for high energy prices as the conflict with Iran.”
–In March Secretary Wright said that there was “a very good chance” gas would be below $3 dollars a gallon this summer. Now he says, “I don’t know the future.”
–Fox News is now claiming that gas was higher a year ago and under Biden than it is now. They had a chart showing gas today at $4.06 and a year ago at $4.13. (A year ago, it was actually $3.14. They just make stuff up.)
–Julian Sanchez: “I’m curious how many viewers of this will dutifully distort their own personal memories of how expensive gas was twelve months ago. Because I don’t know how anyone who drives a car regularly could think this was accurate.”
–Lawrence McDonald on Fox Business said that the economic signals in the bond market are very similar to conditions heading up to the global market crash in 1987.
In vaccination news:
–Trump’s executive order is, unfortunately, already having an impact. Overall vaccines for the 2025-26 school year are down and non-medical exemptions-for-school vaccine requests are up.
–Two of the biggest doctors’ organizations are refusing to adopt Trump’s vaccine schedule.
–Mo Khan: “No law gives him authority over science. If it did, we would all be injecting bleach for COVID.”
–The pharmaceutical industry is pushing back on Trump’s executive order. None of the broken-up vaccines currently exists, and industry leaders say they have no plan to manufacture them. They are sticking with the combined vaccines they already have.
In historical news:
–Today is historically a very good day for women, thanks to a woman. Specifically, a mother.
–Today in 1920 in Nashville, Tennessee, the Tennessee legislature convened in a special session to vote on an amendment to the US Constitution giving women the right to vote.
–The youngest member of the legislature was 22-year-old Harry Burn. His mother sent him a letter, which he read that morning and then included in his floor speech before voting to pass the amendment. His was the deciding vote.
–Tennessee was the deciding state–the 36th to vote for the amendment–and women’s right to vote became part of the Constitution. Thanks, Mom!
In other news:
–Xi Jingping sent out a statement about China’s “completing the reunion of the motherland with Taiwan,” now that we’ve pulled our last aircraft carrier out of Asian waters and everybody in the world knows we’re running out of defense weaponry. (What did I tell you?)
–And now comes word of one of our ships, the USS Benfold, being stranded at sea for four days in the South China Sea after it lost power. It experienced an engineering failure, after which it sat dead in the water for four days.
–Even though we’re at war and it looks like things are about to get much worse, Pete Hegseth spent the day in Iowa campaigning with a Republican candidate (another blatant violation of the Hatch Act.) In REALLY bad news, everyone says Hegseth is planning to run for President.
In good news:
–The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed over 3000 lawsuits to proceed against Meta, Google, Tik Tok, and other social media companies for designing their algorithms to produce maximum addiction to children.
–More than 1000 employees at the biggest AI companies wrote an open letter urging the US government to slow the pace of AI development.
–And astonishingly, amid growing public backlash, Texas governor Greg Abbott announced a moratorium on data center approvals until audits of them are completed.
Best comment of the day, from Seth Abramson: “Anyone else starting to feel like there’s a scandal hiding behind all this that’s absolutely DISGUSTING? Because the White House and all its friends LOST it today just because Natalie Harp was MENTIONED in public. I feel like the whole nation’s Spidey-senses should be tingling.”
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis
