The White House has hit out at an independent journalist who dared to report on a “blonde Trump flunkie” who tried to keep the press away from Donald Trump on a trip to Ireland.
Journalist Aaron Rupar first triggered officials when he pointed out that the 80-year-old president had taken 35-year-old assistant Natalie Harp with him on his trip to Europe.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account called Rupar a “sick, deluded freak” who posts “creepy things” from behind his keyboard, apparently for mentioning Harp and using the hashtag #TravelWithNatalie.
On Sunday, Rupar shared a video of a blonde White House staffer trying to get reporters away from the president as he talked with his family, including sons Eric and Don Jr. and their wives and children, before he boarded Air Force One.
The woman can be heard repeatedly saying “Thank you press, thank you press,” as she attempted to stop photographers capturing the interaction, becoming more insistent.
Rupar captioned a video of the incident, “another blonde Trump flunkie starts literally shoving photographers away from Trump.”
That saw the Rapid Response account clap back on X, without explaining why the photographers were being blocked after Trump had just spoken to reporters gathered at the airport in Ireland, but attacking Rupar again.
“This is a press wrangler doing her job — and doing it well. Aaron, meanwhile, is gutter trash (in his 40s) who spends his days hiding behind his keyboard and making disturbing comments about women doing their jobs. Truly a sick freak!”
The journalist shared their response, but added, “For the second straight day, the White House’s taxpayer-funded incitement account is attacking me and oddly mentioning I’m in my 40s (which I know makes me way too old for the president) When they do this it results in a flood of harassing and threatening messages, which of course is the point.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Rupar’s comments were filled with abuse from MAGA supporters, but also messages respecting his work.
“Republicans appear to be all in on cancelling freedom of speech,” one person noted, another said “Oh wait, `quiet Piggy’ and degradation of a multitude of other females is acceptable?”
One MAGA account actually told the White House, “How about instead of pointless internet beef... you guys try to put gas under $3.50 again.”
Ironically, the White House calling out a woman being criticized for doing her job follows their silence over Trump’s disturbing interaction with ABC reporter Rachel Scott last Thursday.
Scott, 33, asked Trump, 80, about his $1.35 trillion election bribe as he was flying out of Dallas after his two-day Republican midterm convention.
When she attempted a follow-up question, Trump moved in close to Scott and said, “Not you! Hey!” and then barked loudly at her, “Not you!”
The senior president has a history of verbally attacking female journalists. Last November, he snapped “Quiet, piggy!” at Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey aboard Air Force One after she asked him about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
In the same month, he called CBS News’ correspondent Nancy Cordes a “stupid person.” In June he called out CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for not smiling when she was questioning him about the Epstein files during a White House press conference.
