A trio of women, all close aides to President Donald Trump, cleaned up last Christmas. Now the White House is scrambling to defend Trump’s hefty cash gifts to them totaling some 30 percent of the women’s salaries.
New financial disclosures by the White House show Trump handed Natalie Harp, White House communications advisor Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris an eye-popping $45,000 each as holiday gifts.
Politico reports that the gifts, which total $135,000, are in addition to the aides’ $150,000 taxpayer-funded salaries.
Oval Office operations director Walt Nauta also received $20,000, according to PBS News, which also reported that Nauta makes $175,000 a year.
The aides’ annual financial disclosure forms, published by the White House last week, detailed the gifts.
Unlike Nauta, each of the three women works closely with Trump. Harp’s profile has risen sharply in recent weeks since reports surfaced last month that she was among just a handful of Trump lackeys who sneaked off Air Force One via a catering truck onto a waiting military jet after the president faced a purported Iranian threat as he was returning from the July NATO summit in Turkey.
Officials have also mentioned her as a possible successor to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Harp’s nickname is “the human printer” because she’s always printing material for Trump. She also handles his social feeds and posts.
Additionally, Harp has reportedly displayed a strange obsession with Trump through secret letters and other odd behavior.
In addition to her Oval Office duties, Trump appointed Harris to the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews the “design and aesthetics” of construction in Washington.
Politico reported that this puts her on a panel overseeing Trump’s rebranding plans in Washington, including his “big, beautiful ballroom,” which is at the center of “legal and political controversy.”
It’s unclear what her qualifications for that role might be, if any.
Martin, in addition to her comms job with Trump, often travels with him and acts as his de facto videographer, recording his travels and Oval Office visitors.
In response to questions about the stunning holiday gifts, a White House spokesperson said, “The President has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including at times employees and aides, both in government and in his time in the private sector.”
“The gifts at issue here have nothing to do with any of these individuals’ official government duties, and, therefore, are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards,” they added.
Social media was stunned by the size of Trump’s holiday gifts to his aides, pointing out that they not only raise ethical questions but also draw attention to the president’s relationship with them.
“$45,000 in cash is an extraordinary holiday gift especially for a government employee earning $150,000 a year. Even if the White House says these gifts are permissible and unrelated to official duties, the size of the payments naturally raises questions about transparency, ethics, and the relationship between personal loyalty and public service,” a Threads user explained.
Another commenter used just one word to describe the situation: “Crook.”This poster wondered, “Whose money was it? Trump never spends his own money.”
Others piled on.
“This is all just so corrupt; anyone who still supports this just looks foolish.”
