Donald Trump spent much of this week trying to avoid talking about Natalie Harp, the 'extremely close' executive assistant whose role in the White House sits somewhere between 'Oval Office gatekeeper' and 'weird security blanket'.
At their most innocuous, Natalie Harp's oddly close relationship with Donald Trump is the story of a young woman, perhaps a vulnerable one, whose enthusiasm and support for a political hero has turned into desperate obsession. But at worst, it illustrates the kind of messianic devotion with which Trump has surrounded himself in his second Presidency.
Trump Threatens Bond Market and Blames Canada
Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week said he was going to double the Government's purchases of long-term US bonds in a bid to prevent a panic in the bond markets. But Trump, asked about the intervention, appeared to have some kind of brain episode and threatened to bomb the bond market.
Meanwhile, each side blamed the other for trade talks breaking down on Friday night, and both sides have slapped 50% tariffs on the other's goods. President Donald Trump's import taxes will hit about 5% of what Canada ships to the United States every year, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. Prime Minister Carney said Ottawa would respond with targeted tariff protection for industries exposed to the new US duties, including some steel products. He also mentioned the dairy, appliance, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics sectors.
Beef Imports and Rally Heckler
In his second intervention in the beef industry this year, Trump announced he'd struck a deal to allow 300,000 metric tonnes of beef mince to be imported to the States, tariff free, over the next three months. The importers, Trump said, had agreed to sell it at 25% off market rate - in a move he said would help to "rebuild the herd" of American cattle. Colin Woodall, of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, told the New York Times that "flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd".
Trump gave another one of his pre-midterms rallies in South Carolina last night. The most embarrassing thing that happened at the SC rally was the guy who stood up during Trump's speech and shouted something indecipherable, while wearing a tee shirt that read: "Kill your local paedophile."
Natalie Harp Photos and BBC Lawsuit
Photos revealed by the Mirror on Friday show Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp sprinting after his cart at his Scottish golf course - confirming just one of the many bizarre tales about the President's "Human Printer." Harp is nicknamed the "human printer" because she frequently prints out and hands the President printouts of flattering news stories and cherry-picked poll numbers. Pictures show Harp running full-tilt uphill after Trump's cart on the first day of his trip to Turnberry on 2 May 2023. Harp explained in a letter during or shortly after the trip: "The first day I was told there were no carts, and people walked, which is why I walked."
Trump's lawyers have badly miscalculated the President's increasingly preposterous lawsuit against the BBC. The BBC has issued summonses to Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner to give evidence in the case. On Monday, a spokesperson for Trump's legal team issued a wild statement accusing the BBC of "seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters". The BBC has now asked the court to allow service of papers to be done by email and certified mail.
Kim Jong Un and Supreme Court
Trump is cosying up to North Korean megadictator Kim Jong Un again. Trump posted a picture of him and Kim taken during his first term. He also casually let slip that North Korea has "57 nukes". Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is allowing the White House to continue construction on President Donald Trump's $400 million ballroom project for now. Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday allowing work to continue while the court considers an emergency appeal from the Trump administration. Lower courts had ordered a halt to the project, finding that it must have congressional approval.
