President Donald Trump gave cash holiday gifts worth $45,000, approximately 1.48 million baht, to four White House aides, including Natalie Harp, a close assistant nicknamed the "Human Printer" because she often carried a portable printer to print information and social media posts for the U.S. leader. The White House confirmed the money was unrelated to official duties and complied with legal and ethical standards.
President Donald Trump, the U.S. leader, gave cash holiday gifts to four White House officials, according to the annual financial disclosure documents published by the U.S. government last week.
The documents state that Natalie Harp, the president's administrative assistant; Marco Martin, communications advisor; and Chamberlain Harris, deputy director of Oval Office operations, each received $45,000, about 1.4 million baht, while Walt Nauta, director of Oval Office operations, received $20,000, approximately 650,000 baht.
Harp, Martin, and Harris each earn an annual salary of $150,000, while Nauta earns $175,000, according to White House salary reports submitted to Congress.
Harp and two other female aides indicated in their financial disclosures that the money was a "cash holiday gift." The White House press office stated that Trump has a tradition of giving Christmas gifts to those in his professional circle, sometimes including officials and aides both in government and private sector roles.
White House officials also clarified that these gifts were not related to the official duties of each recipient, and are therefore permissible under applicable laws and ethical standards.
This case has drawn special attention due to Harp’s role as an aide who was almost constantly by Trump’s side during his second term. She often carried a portable printer to print news or useful information, including social media posts, for Trump to read, as the president preferred reading important information in document form rather than on screens.
Because of this role, Harp earned the nickname "Human Printer" from those close to her. She also printed messages on Truth Social as directed by Trump and followed the president to locations across the country to prepare news and information for him.
Harp, 35, joined Trump's team in 2022, and her close relationship with the president has attracted significant attention in recent weeks after Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff mentioned her name in a speech criticizing Trump, which went viral online.
Other aides include Marco Martin, who has worked with Trump since his first term and helped manage media during Trump's stay in Florida; Chamberlain Harris, recently appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts overseeing White House banquet room construction; and Walt Nauta, a former personal aide to Trump and key assistant, who was charged alongside Trump in 2023 related to obstruction of an FBI investigation into classified documents removed from the White House after Trump's first term. However, those charges were dropped in 2024.
The disclosure about these cash gifts came after The Washington Post first reported on the matter. The financial documents clearly recorded the money given to the four officials as holiday gifts from the president.
. . .CNN/Associated Press