Melania Trump reportedly refused to appear alongside Donald Trump whenever aide Natalie Harp was present, according to Trump biographer Michael Wolff. The first lady is said to be locked in a behind-the-scenes power struggle with Natalie, who has become practically inseparable from the 80-year-old president.
Rare public appearances
A comprehensive analysis found that Melania was seen in public just 47 times in 2025 following Trump's 20 January inauguration, and only 38 days during the first seven months of 2026. Natalie's almost constant presence at Trump's side has sparked speculation, as Melania, 56, has made comparatively few public appearances alongside her husband.
Biographer's claims
In a recent post on his Substack newsletter Howl, Michael indicated that Natalie's "central presence" in Donald's life helped account for why Melania seldom appeared by his side during his 2024 presidential campaign. He wrote, "Melania, whose appearances with her husband were carefully negotiated and choreographed, would not show up if Harp was around."
He added, "Since Harp was always around, Melania never was - appearing with her husband only in the last week of the campaign."
Natalie's unusual measures
Natalie, meanwhile, is alleged to have gone to remarkable lengths to stay close to Donald. According to Michael, when the president moved his campaign headquarters from Palm Beach to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in 2023, Natalie was not assigned accommodation. Nevertheless, she purportedly found an alternative way to remain nearby, creating a makeshift bed in the maids' quarters before eventually positioning herself even nearer to the president by establishing herself in the women's locker room, according to Regime Change, a book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
"You are all that matters to me," one of the letters is said to have read. Michael asserted that Natalie's influence extended far beyond that of a conventional White House aide. "Harp superseded the White House staff and, as well, his wife and family," Michael wrote. "Nobody got between Harp and Trump. And you only got to Trump by going through Harp."
Melania's absence
As Natalie and Donald's relationship seemed to deepen, Melania reportedly elected not to move to the White House following her husband's return to office. She is believed to have stayed in New York instead.
