Hey readers! Politics reporter Emily Condon here today. It's primary day in Alaska, Florida, Wyoming and a special election in California, so it will be a late night for this East Coast girl. The hot talk in my group chats right now is the NFL preseason and fantasy football. Anyone else scrambling to land rookie Fernando Mendoza and Taylor Swift's husband on their fantasy roster this season?
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Why all the 'Natalie' talk? |
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff drew conservative backlash on Monday for saying at a reelection rally that President Donald Trump only wants to "travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar." Now, critics are calling Ossoff "sexist" and "misogynistic."
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He was referencing Natalie Harp, a Trump aide who does not have a public-facing role or official title. So who is she?
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A bone cancer survivor, Harp spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention about how the Trump-signed "Right to Try" law helped her get treatment. She vowed to dedicate her life to Trump. |
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Now she's an aide in his second administration. LegiStorm calls her role "White House Oval Office Operations." |
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A New York Times reporter called Harp Trump's "Binkie" or "comfort blanket." |
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Harp reportedly accompanied Trump when he was quietly removed from Air Force One to another plane departing a NATO summit in Turkey, as White House reporters and administration officials, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, remained on board the initial aircraft. |
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She's also a Liberty University alumna, and in May, the Wall Street Journal reported that Harp is a key part of Trump's Truth Social posts, saying that she brings the president "stacks of printed-out draft social-media posts for his approval." |
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U.S. President Donald Trump's executive assistant Natalie Harp disembarks Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
Ken Cedeno, REUTERS
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Lawmakers are home for August recess, largely campaigning for reelection (like Ossoff). Meanwhile, the president is in DC making news. Here's what else to know about Trump:
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The Iran war is in a stalemate, and Trump's most recent update on talks with Iran is that there aren't any talks. "The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating," Trump said on Truth Social. |
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In his latest on-camera spat with a reporter in the Oval Office, Trump told CNN's Kristen Holmes to "be quiet," and the White House posted that Holmes is a "disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment," adding, "These scumbags are the lowest of the low." CNN fiercely defended Holmes. |
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The president used what he's previously called an "inherently corrupt" voting method, casting his ballot by mail in tonight's Florida Republican primary. |
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Still wondering where Mitch McConnell is? |
Yeah, so is Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. The Kentucky governor said on Sunday he has "heard absolutely nothing back from" the Kentucky Republican senator.
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McConnell's deputy chief of staff, legislative director and general counsel, Tiffany Ge Elzey, was spotted on Monday by journalist Nicholas Ballasy, who posted this video taken outside McConnell's Washington, DC, residence. Elzey had no response and avoided eye contact when asked to comment about the senator's lack of direct communication with constituents.
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U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sits with his wife, former United States secretary of labor Elaine Chao, while holding what appears to be the July 12 sports section of the Washington Post in a photograph released by his office in Washington, D.C., U.S. July 12, 2026. Office of Senator Mitch McConnell/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Office of Senator Mitch McConnell, via REUTERS
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Primaries tonight: Dem socialist insurgency continues |
Primaries continue across the United States, with Florida, Alaska, Wyoming, and California is holding a special election. Next week will be the final Tuesday primary before the general election in November.
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In the Sunshine State this evening, three democratic socialist candidates are seeking primary wins over mainstream liberal Democrats. This will be an uphill battle in South Florida, which has a large population of immigrants who fled communist and socialist Latin American governments such as the Castro regime in Cuba.
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Polls in Alaska indicate Democrat Mary Peltola and Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan will almost surely advance from the state's nonpartisan primary tonight. Democrats are hoping Petola, a former House member, can flip Sullivan's Senate seat blue, as they try to narrow the margin – or take the majority – in the upper chamber.
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Emily Condon is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her by email at econdon@usatodayco.com.
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The cryptocurrency company that made President Trump nearly $800M since he returned to the White House has received the green light to become a bank.
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South Korea is the latest in a string of close U.S. allies President Trump has threatened to penalize since the United States went to war with Iran.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that she has no regrets about publicly sharing her decision to freeze her eggs.
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Federal officials paused border wall construction in Big Bend National Park after public outcry over bulldozing.
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