Washington: Donald Trump and his White House aides savaged a reporter who asked about his relationship with a female staffer, bringing to the fore an innuendo that has circulated in Washington for some time.

CNN journalist Kristen Holmes asked the US president about his aide Natalie Harp after a Democratic senator, Jon Ossoff, told a rally that Trump “wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar”.

It was a rare occasion on which a well-known Democratic politician publicly raised the issue of Harp, a White House staffer and member of Trump’s inner circle who frequently prints out articles from conservative news platforms for him to read, or types out his Truth Social posts.

She was also one of a handful of close aides to secretly travel with Trump on an alternative flight from Turkey last month, rather than take his Air Force One jet, which was deemed a security risk amid threats from Iran.

Harp’s close relationship with Trump has been scrutinised in the press. The New York Times reported in 2024 that Harp wrote him fawning letters, leaving them in his personal spaces, including one that said: “You are all that matters to me.”

On Monday (Washington time), Holmes asked Trump for his response to Ossoff’s public remarks. He initially took aim at Ossoff.

“You mean Pee-wee Herman? Pee-wee Herman lookalike,” he said, referring to the childish American comedic character portrayed by Paul Reubens. “No, I would much rather do other things.”

He then spoke at length about the White House ballroom. But later, after Holmes attempted to ask another question about an unrelated matter, Trump turned on her, repeatedly telling her to stop talking.

“You’re very disrespectful … You’re fake news,” he said. “You’re a loud, boisterous person. You’re fake news. Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. You’re a fake reporter, and you report fake news.”

Those remarks were then boosted online by an official White House social media channel, Rapid Response 47, which called Holmes a “scumbag” and explicitly linked Trump’s outburst to her question about Harp.

“[Holmes] is a disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment to her alleged profession,” the account said. “[Trump] hosts a hero lifeguard in the Oval Office and she uses it as an opportunity to take a cheap shot about one of President Trump’s staffers. These scumbags are the lowest of the low.”

The official White House account, which has 2.2 million followers, also attacked Holmes as a mother. “Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question,” it said. “They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling.”

In a statement, CNN defended its reporter and said she had asked a tough, relevant and newsworthy question.

“Public officials are free to challenge reporting they disagree with, but personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press,” the network said. “We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms.”

Trump regularly attacks CNN and its reporters, especially women, including anchor Kaitlan Collins. During a poorly received speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last month, he complained that Collins habitually failed to smile despite being “a young, attractive woman”.

Harp, 34, is officially an executive assistant to the president. She spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention, where she credited Trump with saving her life by legalising right-to-try therapies – although subsequent reporting cast doubt on those claims. She later worked for right-wing site One America News.

In their recent book Regime Change, journalists Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman reported that Trump called Harp “Nathalie”, using a French pronunciation, and told staff she was the only aide who loved him as much as his own wife and children.

“All of you will go off and make money,” he would say, according to Regime Change. “She’ll never leave me.”