This week’s decision by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to depart President Donald Trump’s immediate inner circle in order to “spend more time with her beautiful young children and family” still has tongues wagging in Washington.
Could Trump’s most effective communicator be leaving in a fit of pique, some wondered. After all, her announcement came just 24 hours after revelations that Trump had left scores of top administration staffers (not to mention the entire White House press corps) to their own fate aboard Air Force One, knowing the Iranians had threatened to attack it.
The elaborate subterfuge that saw the President board an escape plane on his way home from the Nato leaders’ summit in Turkey has left Trump open to accusations of abandonment, especially from fuming members of the press corps who assumed he was travelling with them.
The latest reporting suggests that Trump was accompanied by only three members of his inner circle on the backup jet: Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, an ideological Rottweiler who heavily influences the President’s thinking, Director of Oval Office Operations Walt Nauta, who previously served as Trump’s personal valet, and, oddly, Natalie Harp, Trump’s 35-year-old executive assistant.
The selection of Harp as one of the President’s few fellow passengers is only serving to raise fresh questions about her role at the White House. She is often described as Trump’s “human printer”, since her main role is to carry a portable printer that allows her to share positive news stories about the President with the President. (He’s an old-fashioned fellow who requires hard copy, not read an iPad or mobile phone).
But Harp is also a crucial player in Trump’s social media output, seen during the 2024 presidential campaign sitting alongside him and taking dictation as he articulated messages he wanted typed onto his Truth Social account.
In their best-selling book , reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reveal that the Secret Service raised questions about the personal notes left for Trump by Harp in what are described as “his private spaces” at the White House. In one, Harp is reported to have told Trump “you are all that matters to me”.
She is also often photographed or filmed at White House events watching Trump with devotion, and some have suggested adoration. Her presence at the President’s side is constant, in stark contrast to First Lady Melania Trump who spends most of her time at either Trump Tower in New York City or Mar-A-Lago in Florida.
Harp’s estranged brother has described his sister’s relationship with Trump as “very unhealthy”. In a June interview, Preston Harp called the 80-year-old leader a “national embarrassment” and described his sister as “just like his fan club”.
Harp first came to Trump’s attention when she worked as anchor for right-wing propaganda TV outlet “One America News”. A graduate of Liberty University, an educational institution founded by the late TV evangelist Reverend Jerry Falwell, she joined Trump’s team in 2022 just as he was mulling another run for the presidency. She is ideologically fused with Trump and has credited him with securing her access to experimental treatments for bone cancer.
Harp remains a prominent figure at Trump’s side along with two other female White House staffers, spokeswoman Anna Kelly and communications adviser Margo Martin. At least one of them travels with him wherever he goes. In contrast, Melania Trump has not been seen publicly with her husband since the World Cup final on 19 July.
Leavitt has expressed no public disquiet about Trump’s decision to abandon Air Force One when he departed Ankara and has publicly insisted the Secret Service believed there was a credible Iranian threat on the President’s life.
Her departure from the White House at the end of the month may have a simpler explanation than the one proffered by Washington gossips. With Republicans facing a possible drubbing in November’s midterm elections, Trump may want to free her from the fetters of the Hatch Act, which legally prevents any White House spokesperson from engaging in avowedly political rhetoric or campaigning.
Trump, in other words, may want Leavitt free to spearhead Republican campaign messaging in an aggressive effort to beat back the threat posed by Democrats.
Or maybe she really does want to spend more time with the family, including her four-month-old daughter.
When will the heatwave end?
Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures peaking at 38.1°C at Kew Gardens in London as the record-breaking summer continues.
This has been the UK’s hottest summer on record, and yesterday ranked as the UK’s fifth hottest day since records began in 1914.
The relentless heat has been coupled with a prolonged dry spell, leading to drought in many areas of the country, particularly severe in the south.
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Record-breaking heat
- The 37 days from 30 June to 5 August counted as the UK’s second-longest heatwave.
- This year, the UK has had at least one heatwave every month since May.
- The whole of Wales and more than 70 per cent of England is now in drought.
- Some parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex have not had rain for 63 days.
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Drought in pictures
When will it end?
Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said temperatures will see “a gradual return to average over the next few days”.
Conditions will feel less humid by Saturday, though it will still feel warm.
As for some desperately needed rain, the Met Office said some parts may see thunderstorms later today and into Saturday.
But the next meaningful rain for the driest areas in the south “could be towards the end of next week”.
The Government has issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues. Andy Burnham told the : “Britain is a tinderbox.”
New advice said single-use grills “have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months”.
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What you need to know as Farage wins Clacton by-election
The Reform UK leader claimed an “overwhelming” victory – but refused to attend the count for safety reasons.
A party spokesperson said there had been a “credible threat” made against him.
Everything you need to know
How did Farage do?
Farage won 22,239 votes in the by-election, securing a majority of 63 per cent.
What about Binface?
The satirical candidate Count Binface received 9,455 votes (27 per cent).
Who was he facing?
There were a record-breaking 34 candidates on the ballot on Thursday, though none from the main parties.
What has the reaction been?
In a brief statement posted on X, the Reform leader said: “The result in Clacton speaks for itself.”
By contrast, the Liberal Democrats said Farage had come away from the election “looking daft”, as most people “who fight against a bin” would.
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Finance probe re-opens
- Part of Farage’s reasoning behind his abrupt resignation last month was the probe into his financial affairs.
- He was being investigated by the parliamentary standards committee over the alleged “failure to register an interest”.
- It concerns a £5m “gift” from a crypto-billionaire in 2024, which Farage did not declare.
- As he has been re-elected, the probe has reopened.
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This is a hollow victory for Farage. His biggest test is about to begin
Farage has defeated a bin but questions still remain over his and Reform’s finances.
How university tuition fees may hit £11,000 a year by 2030
Record numbers of students are set to go to university this year – but they face debts as high as £100,000 when they graduate.
What you need to know
- Students starting four-year courses this autumn are to see their fees rise by more than £800 in their final year.
- Tuition fees will reach £9,790 this autumn and £10,050 next year.
- Keir Starmer’s government said fees would increase with inflation.
- With these costs, added to the maximum maintenance loan for a student living without their parents in London, the total adds up to nearly £100,000.
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Mounting concerns around cost
Lewis Wilson, vice president at the National Union of Students, said the costs of attending university were “astronomical” and students were left with “mortgage-sized” debts.
“It’s a graduate tax for life, but it’s completely unfair,” he said.
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Could the Government backtrack?
Last month, Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the issue of student loans was “very much at the top of my in-tray” and described interest charges on Plan 2 loans as “egregious”.
Iain Mansfield, head of education at the Policy Exchange think-tank, said: “Given the increasing concern about the quality of universities, there is a real question about whether or not they’ll choose to go ahead with it. It feels like a fifty-fifty decision.”
Wildfires tear through West Midlands – the latest
This morning, residents in Stourbridge woke up to the burnt-out shells of neighbouring houses after a night of terrifying wildfires swept through the West Midlands yesterday.
What happened?
- A huge blaze near Stourbridge Golf Course set six homes on fire yesterday, with 100 firefighters battling the flames.
- The ambulance service said two people were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
- West Midlands chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said “the devastation is extensive”.
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Yesterday, fire crews also fought off a fire in Stoke-on-Trent where four homes were destroyed.
There were further fires in Warwickshire, Druids Heath and Kings Norton in Birmingham, Salford Priors and Pershore in Worcestershire. A woman was also seriously injured in another blaze in Castle Vale, Birmingham.
What has the reaction been?
There are now 11 major incidents declared across the UK, many in the West Midlands.
Phil Garrigan, chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, told the BBC: “It’s been a particularly difficult, busy period for the fire and rescue service, where we’ve been under significant pressure.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Awful to see homes and communities hit by fires across the country tonight as the heatwave continues. My thoughts are with everyone affected.”