Preston Harp, the brother of President Donald Trump's aide Natalie Harp, said his sister "didn't break out of the delusion that my mom raised us with," and speculated that draws her to the president.
"Trump is like everything that my mom taught us to respect," he said in an Aug. 18 interview with CNN.
"My mom raised us that the idea of American exceptionalism was the correct way of looking at things, that the United States is the boss of the world," Preston Harp said in the interview. "That like slavery was back then. That was normal. People weren't bad because they had slaves."
Natalie Harp has been in the spotlight after Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff drew conservative backlash for an Aug. 16 comment at a campaign rally that Trump only wants to "travel
with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar."
Ossoff was referencing reports that Harp 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. Critics called the comments sexist and misogynistic.
Now Preston Harp, who is estranged from his sister, is offering his own perspective as to she and the president share a close bond. He said in the CNN interview that his sister's "infatuation for Trump" comes from agenda items like removing books from school and attempts to "rewrite history." He also said his sister has an "unhealthy obsession" with the president.
"I think that Trump's best friends are people who are his fan club, and so she's his biggest fan, and that's probably why he likes her," Preston said on CNN. "And like she's good looking. She's got a good personality."
Natalie Harp has shared a different reason for defending the president, though. A bone cancer survivor, she 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, and has become a close aide.
USA TODAY reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back before publication. Preston Harp was unable to speak to USA TODAY before publication.
Preston recalled that even before Trump, his sister had an "obsession" with politics and that she has "written letters to other presidents," specifically to President George W. Bush during the Iraq war.
"Her dream came true finally," the brother said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Natalie Harp's brother says she has 'unhealthy obsession' with Trump
