Trump aide rides along on golf cart with ex-president to show him positive news stories

Former OANN host takes on new role as cheerleader for president-in-exile

A former host for the right-wing One America News Network, famous for its sycophantic coverage of former President Donald Trump, has joined his team in a role that has her primarily serving as Mr Trump’s personal ego booster.

That’s the newest revelation from The Washington Post’s coverage of Mr Trump’s post-presidential life at Mar-a-Lago, where FBI agents in September conducted a raid for illegally retained presidential records including classified materials.

According to the Post, former OANN host Natalie Harp now frequently follows Mr Trump around his Florida golf courses and other locations, often riding along in the ex-president’s golf cart as she continues her work of showering him with every poll, positive news story and any other shred of confidence-inducing information that she has on hand.

And the newspaper’s journalists report that Ms Harp isn’t the only Trump aide assigned to morale-boosting duty as the former president faces the weight of the Justice Department’s January 6 investigation as well as a similar probe in Fulton County, Georgia, bearing down upon him. The ex-president also faces a civil case brought by the state of New York and a recent criminal conviction of his company, the Trump Organization.

“On some quiet days, another aide, Molly Michael, who served as Trump’s assistant in the White House, has called around to Trump’s network of allies across the country requesting that they dial the former president to boost his spirits with positive affirmations,” reports the Post.

In all, the various legal troubles facing the former president far outweigh the fanfare that largely failed to materialise last month with the announcement of Mr Trump’s 2024 bid for the White House, a largely-expected development that has been met with mixed reactions from the GOP and a sense from Republicans aligned with the party’s Washington establishment that Mr Trump’s political dynasty is weaker than ever before.

The ex-president frequently posts ego-boosting headlines, typically including poll results, to his Truth Social account as he attempts to remain relevant in the era of Joe Biden.

A top target for such postings in recent weeks has been Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, who is widely viewed in conservative and media circles as the most credible competitor besides Mr Trump for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination.

Mr DeSantis has not formally announced a bid for the presidency but has not officially ruled a bid out either as he pursues policies in the Sunshine State that are frequently seen as attempts to play to a wider, national conservative audience.