President Donald Trump’s former political director Bill Stepien is facing backlash after criticizing Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff for a comment about one of the president’s aides, with Democratic strategist Keith Boykin accusing Stepien of ignoring Trump’s own history of personal attacks.
The exchange unfolded Monday night on CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip,” where Stepien argued that Ossoff crossed a line by mentioning Natalie Harp, a White House staffer who frequently travels with Trump. Stepien said the Georgia Democrat should apologize for suggesting Trump would rather spend time with Harp than focus on his presidential responsibilities.
“It was below the belt,” Stepien said.
Boykin, who appeared on the same panel, immediately challenged Stepien’s criticism, pointing to the former Trump aide’s history working for a president who has repeatedly attacked political opponents and other public figures.
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“You worked for Donald Trump. How could you say anything is below the belt when you worked for Donald Trump in the White House?” Boykin said. “That is outrageous.”
Boykin continued by arguing that Trump has repeatedly crossed the very line Stepien accused Ossoff of crossing.
“Donald Trump repeatedly goes below the belt,” Boykin said.
The dispute centered on comments Ossoff made Sunday during an Atlanta rally as he campaigns for reelection. The 39-year-old Democrat criticized Trump for his handling of the Iran war and argued that the president seemed more interested in personal pursuits than in the responsibilities of the presidency.
“He doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff said. “He golfs and trades stocks. See, 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 amir of Qatar.”
The “Natalie” reference was directed at Harp, Trump’s executive assistant. Harp has drawn attention for her close access to the president and her role in preparing material for Trump’s Truth Social account.
As previously reported, Harp collects screenshots of favorable social media posts and other content from Trump supporters and allies. Once Trump approves the material, she reportedly publishes it through his Truth Social account, including posts made outside typical working hours.
Stepien argued that Ossoff should have left Harp out of his political criticism because she is a government employee, not an elected official.
“Jon Ossoff ran for office. Donald Trump ran for office. Criticize them, put a spotlight on them, talk about them. She is a government staffer,” Stepien said.
Boykin rejected that defense and brought up Trump’s treatment of election workers in Fulton County following the 2020 election.
“Donald Trump attacked those election workers in Fulton County. They had no business being involved in his scandal, but Donald Trump brought them up,” Boykin said.
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He then turned his criticism directly toward Stepien.
“I wanna talk about how Donald Trump repeatedly for 30 years has attacked every single person. You worked for him in the White House while he attacked people with attacks that went far lower than what Jon Ossoff said. For you to come here and have this fake outrage about Jon Ossoff is outrageous.”
Stepien’s comments also drew online criticism, with social media users accusing him of hypocrisy.
“Oh gimme a break, if Obama had a young assistant attached at the hip and sending him love letters, FOX would air an entire special about it,” one person wrote. Another called the response, “The epitome of hypocrisy.”
Other reactions were similarly dismissive, including one commenter who wrote, “The Republican Party is below the belt. This is rich.” Another wrote, “Ossoff hit a nerve! Keep up the good trouble!”
The CNN show escalated again on Wednesday after conservative commentator Scott Jennings also came after Ossoff.
Jennings blasted the senator for dragging Harp into his attack, arguing that she is not a public figure and had no way to defend herself.
“I expect Ossoff to criticize Donald Trump. I expect every Democrat running for president to criticize Donald Trump,” Jennings said. “What I thought was appalling about this is that Harp is not a public figure. She’s not a household name.”
Jennings accused Ossoff of deliberately “punching down” on someone who is “effectively defenseless.”
But Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who joined Wednesday’s panel, quickly turned Jennings’ argument back on Trump.
“Doesn’t Donald Trump do that all the time?” Moskowitz asked.
He pointed to Trump’s demeaning remarks about the late Rob Reiner and CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins.
Jennings continued defending his position, but host Abby Phillip cut him off and rolled a montage showing Trump attacking women over the years.
The clips included insults aimed at Rosie O’Donnell, Hillary Clinton and several female journalists, including Collins.
Phillip then put Jennings on the spot.
“If you’re going to be outraged over traveling on a plane with Natalie, are you going to be outraged over all those things?” she asked.
“I do not believe in demeaning women in any way,” Jennings replied.
That answer did not satisfy Boykin, who repeatedly pressed Jennings to answer Phillip’s question directly.
“Are you outraged or not?” Boykin asked.
Jennings returned to his argument that Harp is not a public figure. Boykin pushed back, noting that journalists targeted by Trump are not necessarily household names either.
The exchange quickly spiraled into a heated shouting match.
“You are avoiding the question again, Scott Jennings!” Boykin shouted.
Jennings leaned away from Boykin and complained about how loudly he was yelling.
“By the way, you at home have no idea how loud this is,” Jennings said.
Boykin immediately fired back.
“You have no idea how dishonest you are.”
The controversy comes as Ossoff continues campaigning for another Senate term. His original remarks also criticized Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict, which he accused the administration of misrepresenting to the public.
“They’ve lied non-stop about this war like they lie about everything. And they know they’re lying, but they lie, and they keep lying anyway because in this White House, they view persistence in deceit as a virtue,” Ossoff said. “And there’s something uniquely despicable about lying a nation into war, treating citizens as fools and those who serve as pawns.”
Trump was also asked about Ossoff’s remarks Monday. When a reporter asked what he thought about the senator saying he would rather travel with Harp and focus on his ballroom than perform his presidential duties, Trump responded by mocking Ossoff.
“Who said that? You mean Pee-Wee Herman? Pee-Wee Herman look-alike,” Trump said.
Trump’s joke received little reaction from those present, with the exchange ending in silence.
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