Devoted aide Natalie Harp jumped into the trunk of a car after she got into a "screaming match" about accompanying President Donald Trump.
According to CNN reporting, Harp "jumped into an SUV trunk" in October 2023 when Trump was due at a New York City courthouse. The motorcade idled outside his Trump Tower residence, and staffers told Harp that there was no room for her, according to a CNN article.
"A screaming match then ensued in the lobby of Trump Tower," CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reported on Tuesday. "At that time, with essentially Harp saying that the president had personally asked her to go, and she was determined, so determined not to be left behind, that she actually got in the trunk of one of the SUVs that was part of the motorcade."
Holmes explained, "It just shows you how much she cares about President Trump and how she wants to be in proximity to him." Harp also reportedly accompanied Trump when he snuck off Air Force One in a catering cart to avoid an Iranian threat.
Harp was in a part of the SUV that was "like a cargo hold," according to Holmes. "And that was according to multiple sources and to a photo that I obtained and reviewed that showed the space that she had been in and her sitting there. It was really an extraordinary moment for so many people around President Trump."
Commentator Paul Rieckhoff reacted to the story during his appearance on CNN, saying, "It's really concerning. I mean, it's disconcerting. It's troubling. I mean, the woman was in the trunk of a vehicle."
He added that the situation should present "a security concern. I'm surprised the Secret Service allowed it," and "If that was my daughter and I found out she was in the trunk and she'd been asked to do that, I would question everybody involved."