Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is facing backlash from White House officials and conservatives after taking a personal shot at Trump aide Natalie Harp at a campaign rally, referring to her only by her first name.
“Natalie Harp is one of the most loyal and hardest working aides on President Trump’s team. Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a s— what this lightweight loser says,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle to Fox News Digital.
Ossoff took the jab at Harp during a re-election campaign rally in Atlanta, where he slammed President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran war and accused the president of neglecting his duties to focus on construction of the White House ballroom and “travel with Natalie,” whom he did not identify by last name.
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“He doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar,” Ossoff said.
His jab sparked backlash from conservatives and Trump officials, who defended the 35-year-old aide as simply doing her job, called Ossoff’s attack sexist and demanded an apology.
“I don’t think any woman would want to travel with Ossoff. Natalie is smart, professional and successful. Ossoff has to make a sexist remark,” wrote communications specialist and political commentator Mercedes Schlapp.
“Jon J—— has to be the biggest c— loser in politics. Instead of denigrating hard working people serving their country, Jon should look deep into his soul and ask himself why he’s a miserable person who hates this country. It’s because he’s a radical, extremist Dumocrat,” said White House communication director Steven Cheung.
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“@SenOssoff comments regarding Natalie Harp were both sexists and misogynistic. John, attractive women can be qualified, hard workers, and in positions of power. Your gross implication otherwise only highlights your own insecurity and guilty conscience. I feel bad for your staff if this is what you think of women,” wrote Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.
“Natalie Harp is an incredibly hardworking, talented, principled, and loyal member of the Trump Admin 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’ team,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
“Natalie Harp survived bone cancer because President Trump allowed her the ‘right to try.’ Now she’s an extremely hardworking and trusted assistant. Any other insinuation is vile,” wrote Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas.
“Natalie Harp is a bone cancer survivor who only lived because Trump greenlit the right to try an experimental treatment when you were terminal. I met her back then. She went to work for him after recovery,” said conservative commentator Robby Starbuck.
He added, “@Ossoff is a vile coward for insinuating they’re having an affair. He should apologize to Natalie for doing this. I don’t think any of us would want our daughters talked about like this.”
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Harp rose to prominence in 2019 after crediting Trump’s Right to Try Act with helping her access experimental cancer treatment. She later joined Trump’s 2020 campaign before being tapped as special assistant to the president.
She has earned the nickname the “human printer” in Trump’s orbit, updating the president with printouts of news articles, emails, social-media posts and other material for him to read.
Ossoff sought to clarify his remarks Monday.
“[Trump] retreats into this bubble of West Wing aides who are his security blanket to make him feel good about himself, to reassure him that he’s doing a great job,” said Ossoff on “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”
He added, “I’ve heard this particular aide referred to as his security blanket. And I think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the White House. They’re not telling him what he needs to hear. They’re telling him what he wants to hear.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Harp and Ossoff for comment.
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