People around the world have fixated on President Donald Trump and his unusual relationship with one of his top loyalists.
Following Karoline Leavitt’s exit, one person has been hovering more closely at White House meetings, golf outings, and flights.
But a former deputy press secretary says hovering is hardly the most humiliating thing Trump has made staffers do while he stood there.
Natalie Harp shot into the spotlight after Sen. Jon Ossoff mocked Trump for constantly traveling with her.
The jab ignited a media firestorm, sending renewed attention toward Harp’s alleged fixation on Trump.
Old photos of her sprinting after his golf cart during a 2023 Scotland trip resurfaced, along with deeply personal letters she reportedly wrote to her boss. Outlets reported that Harp’s behavior toward Trump had the Secret Service “alarmed.”
According to a former Trump insider, Harp is not the only person in the president’s inner circle who has treated him like a monarch.
Sarah Matthews served as deputy press secretary during Trump’s first term, from June 2020 to January 2021. She resigned after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Since breaking away from the Republican Party’s MAGA wing, the 31-year-old conservative became an outspoken Trump critic.
Matthews spoke about her experiences in Trump 1.0. During an interview shared last week on The Bulwark’s social media accounts, she shared behind-the-scenes details about her time in the West Wing.
“Harp is just the latest example of a much bigger problem,” Matthews said, according to The Mirror. “Aides have always gone to absurd lengths to curry favor with this president.”
Matthews went on to explain how that extreme kowtowing to Trump created a “dysfunctional and cutthroat environment” among the president’s closest advisors.
“I know, because I live it,” she insisted, before hinting at certain “humiliating” stories about some of her co-workers.
She added, “One example I can recall is people would steam his pants while he was still wearing them. Clearly not a job that anyone really wants. And that’s just the beginning.”
That anecdote about Trump allegedly steaming his pants while wearing them fueled a wave of jokes on social media.
The president’s alleged issues with bowel control in public became the punchline. His purported incontinence has been a major talking point among online trolls.
“Steam his pants while he wore them. Well, now he’s doing that pretty much by himself,” an Instagram commenter quipped.
Over on YouTube, the comment section filled up with more reactions to Matthews bringing the sycophantic actions of Trump’s team to light.
“Losers need a cheerleader,” someone suggested. Additionally, one shocked individual wrote, ”Wow. That’s… wow, I’m running out of words.”
The feeling of being dumbfounded continued when a second commenter typed, “I do not understand how one person could be obsessed with this guy, let alone multiple!!!!”
“Trump surrounds himself with Ivanka look-alikes and have heard the creepy things he has said about his daughter; no wonder, just yuck!” exclaimed one person, referring to his 44-year-old daughter.
The POTUS does have a history of keeping younger women around.
That trend started in his days as a real estate developer and remained during his days as president.
Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks was once a core member of Trump’s close advisors in the first term.
A 2017 book provided insight into the pants-steaming routine. The “Let Trump Be Trump” memoir was co-written by Hicks’ rumored ex-romantic partner Corey Lewandowski.
Lewandowski also served as Kristi Noem’s subordinate before he was subsequently fired after her in March 2026.
“Get the machine!” Trump would yell at Hicks, as stated in an excerpt from “Let Trump Be Trump” published in The Washington Post.
The passage resumed, “And Hope would take out the steamer and start steaming Mr. Trump’s suit, while he was wearing it! She’d steam the jacket first and then sit in a chair in front of him and steam his pants.”
Apparently, Hicks once forgot the steamer. Trump reportedly responded by shouting, “G–dammit, Hope! How the hell could you forget the machine?”
Lewandowski and his co-author, Republican activist David Bossie, also touched on Trump’s verbal lashing of Hicks by writing, “It was a mistake she would never make again.”
As for Harp, the former OANN anchor was once again spotted with Trump over the weekend. She was seated right next to him during a car ride from the president’s Virginia golf course back to the White House.
