President Donald Trump’s recent golf outings have attracted attention online for reasons that extend beyond his performance on the course.
Over Labor Day weekend, footage from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, circulated on social media, showing the president taking a swing that appeared to leave him briefly off balance.
The ball sailed past the green, while Trump’s movements prompted viewers to take a closer look at the moment.
The clip quickly became a topic of discussion as social media users replayed the swing and debated what they had seen. Some focused on the president’s footing, while others questioned the trajectory of the shot.
But the golf swing was not the only detail drawing attention. As the camera moved away from Trump, something in the background caught viewers’ eyes, shifting the conversation from the president’s game to an unexpected sight elsewhere on the course.
As the person filming quickly whipped the camera away, the lens caught White House aide Natalie Harp seated nearby in a golf cart cheering his shot — renewing public scrutiny over her constant proximity to the president.
The brief appearance quickly became another point of conversation for social media users already familiar with Harp’s prominent role around Trump.
One widely shared post stated, “He is golfing this weekend without a care in the world Natalie Harp is with him (seen in this clip) Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. Natalie goes everywhere he goes.”
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Much of the online commentary initially focused on Trump’s golf technique.
“I don’t golf. Never have. But even I know this is an atrocious swing,” one person wrote.
Another questioned how Trump could struggle with his swing despite spending so much time on the course, writing, “There’s one thing I don’t understand, though. With all the rounds of golf he plays in a year, how can he have such a bad swing?”
Another commenter was even more blunt in a now deleted post, writing, “For someone who spends an awful lot of time and an absolute F***-TON of taxpayer money playing golf, he has the s***test form imaginable.”
Others suggested the camera’s quick pan away before the ball landed was an attempt to conceal what happened to the shot, with some accusing Trump of cheating. “Cheating ofc!!” Someone else added, “…and he cheats at golfing.”
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Harp’s presence generated a separate wave of reactions. One person remarked, “Nat’s been upgraded to having her own cart now instead of jogging after him. Moving up in the world.”
Another wrote, “Natalie spending this holiday weekend with Trump at his New Jersey club watching him golf. Something very obsessive and creepy about this.”
The criticism underscores the unusual level of public interest surrounding Harp’s role in the administration.
Dubbed “the human printer” for her practice of carrying a portable device to feed Trump real-time printouts of favorable media coverage, Harp’s constant presence was on display once again as the presidential motorcade departed Bedminster around 3:20 p.m. Sunday, with photographers capturing her seated beside him in the back of his SUV.
Prior to Labor Day weekend, Harp was also photographed shadowing Trump at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, accompanying him to a closed-door VIP MAGA Inc. super PAC dinner and riding inside the presidential SUV upon departure. Getty photographer Tasos Katopodis captured the pair, as reported by the Daily Beast.
The viral clips have left social media users parsing two distinct subjects: Trump’s golf game and Harp’s continuous presence alongside him across both private and public venues.
As previously reported, Harp’s latest appearances come after weeks of scrutiny over her unusually close proximity to Trump and reports detailing her intense devotion to the president.
In August, photos surfaced from a May 2023 trip to Trump Turnberry in Scotland showing Harp running on foot behind Trump’s golf cart as she attempted to keep up with him. At the time, she did not have a cart and later apologized to Trump in a leaked letter published by The Daily Beast, expressing remorse over what she feared was an embarrassing scene.
Harp explained that course staff had instructed her to walk on the first day due to a lack of available carts, and asked her to continue walking the following day to spare the course extra cart traffic.
The photos surfaced alongside private correspondence highlighting her devotion, including notes stating, “You are all that matters to me” and “I don’t ever want to let you down… I want to bring you joy,” before concluding with, “With all my heart, Natalie.”
Having first entered Trump’s orbit in 2019, Harp now operates as his executive assistant, supplying him with real-time favorable news coverage, polling, and social media feeds.
Her estranged brother, Preston Harp, publicly characterized her intense attachment to the former president as an “unhealthy obsession.”
