Trump roasted over ‘flying palace’ trips with aide: ‘He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie’

Trump roasted over ‘flying palace’ trips with aide: ‘He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie’ Democratic senator Jon Ossoff claimed that the president is ‘treating citizens as fools and those who serve as pawns’ - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Donald Trump would rather build the White House ballroom and travel with his aide than “do the job” of president, a Democratic senator has claimed. Georgia senator Jon Ossoff hit out at the commander-in-chief’s priorities in a scathing speech in Atlanta Sunday, criticising the handling of the Iran war, the recently-revealed decoy Air Force One operation and alluding to morale issues on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. “While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings,” Ossoff said. “He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do his job.” “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar,” Ossoff added to a roar of applause. The “Natalie” comment appears to refer to executive assistant Natalie Harp, one of the few aides who joined the president on a military plane flying out of Turkey last month amid concerns that Iran could carry out an attempted assassination. Other White House officials, including secretary of state Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller, were left on the decoy Air Force One despite the apparent threat. Trump is facing backlash over the secret plane switch, which left the press and public in the dark until it was revealed by the Washington Post earlier this month. Harp is often spotted by the president’s side, earning the nickname “human printer” because she provides Trump with printouts of news stories and social media posts. In 2019, she delivered a speech crediting Trump with saving her life after he signed the Right to Try Act into law. Harp had battled stage 2 bone cancer and said that trying experimental medication helped her to recover, accusing the “medical establishment” of simply prescribing her opioids and the “political establishment” of telling her how to die. “But then an outsider, my Good Samaritan, President Donald J. Trump, he saw me there, and he didn’t walk by; he stopped,” she said. Her brother Preston Harp has claimed his sister is seeking a father figure in Trump but described the relationship as “very unhealthy” to The Daily Mail. Ossoff’s reference to the USS Abraham Lincoln’s sailors comes amid ongoing concerns from their families that the aircraft carrier’s extended deployment in the Middle East is impacting their health. Loved ones of those stationed on the vessel have repeatedly complained about the conditions on board while the aircraft carrier supports U.S. efforts in the war with Iran. Administration officials, including the president, have dismissed the concerns with defense secretary Pete Hegseth last week claiming complaints were “misrepresented”. “We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” he told reporters Thursday. “Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls - it's incredible.” The Independent has contacted the White House for comment. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments