According to a New York Times report, President Donald Trump's favorite aide had a part in the backstory of the $20 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign praising him.
The Times investigation, co-written by Maggie Haberman, found that Trump personally told his budget director to find government money for the ads. It also described an Oval Office meeting on Aug. 7 where Natalie Harp showed the room the kind of images the president likes.
At the meeting, Trump met with Republican strategists, top political adviser James Blair and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Harp, whom the Times called "his ever-present assistant and provider of positive news about himself," was there too.
The strategists were waiting for Trump to approve super PAC spending for midterm candidates. "But during that meeting, the president was much more interested in looking at videos of himself," the Times reported.
Trump turned to Harp and asked her to show the group the imagery he prefers. She pulled up White House videos on her tablet: Trump in front of huge crowds, Trump next to Marine One, and Trump with fighter jets flying overhead.
One clip showed UFC president Dana White calling Trump "the toughest, most resilient person that I've ever met." The Times reported that Trump has repeated the quote "with delight" ever since.
A Trump-linked nonprofit later spent about $60,000 to air an ad with White's quote, mostly around Washington, where Trump was sure to see it. A few weeks after that, ads praising Trump started running nationwide, paid for by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Harp, 35, has come under growing scrutiny for her role in deciding what news reaches Trump. Last weekend, photographers caught her showing Trump something on her laptop during the Texas-Tennessee football game.