Inside that cramped catering truck also sat Trump’s most trusted inner circle: executive assistant Natalie Harp, described by a source as the president’s ‘connective tissue,’ and director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta.
Another report has indicated that White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino rounded out a three-person team who accompanied Trump on the covert escape.
All within 60 seconds, the group had entered the container at the side of Air Force One and were lowered to the tarmac. They then sped across to a waiting C-32A military jet and were hoisted inside.
To keep watching eyes from suspecting anything, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth casually strolled up visible stairs of the military plane, feigning a routine boarding.
Meanwhile, unsuspecting press and the rest of Trump’s traveling staff were left completely in the dark on Air Force One, which had now become a ‘decoy.’
A source familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail that, in particular, 35-year-old Harp’s selection to ride safely with the president was a no-brainer. A second source said she was Trump’s ‘first pick’ to accompany him.
Inside the cramped compartment sat his most trusted inner circle: executive assistant Natalie Harp, described by a source as the president’s ‘connective tissue,’ and director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta.
A separate source familiar with the ride referred to Harp, Nauta and Scavino as Trump’s ‘three musketeers.’
‘They are close to the president, vital to his mission, but respectfully, not too important to be left on a plane of people who need to succeed the president and his administration if something horrible did in fact happen,’ the source said.
Left behind on Air Force One were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, top advisor Stephen Miller, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and Ambassador Monica Crowley, who took off on a three-hour and 45-minute flight to RAF Mildenhall in the UK.
