Trump Turns to Natalie Harp for ‘Help’ During TIME Interview

President Donald Trump turned to longtime aide Natalie Harp for help with the details of a major White House meeting while sitting for an expansive interview with TIME, offering another glimpse at just how closely the staffer works alongside him.

Trump, 80, was discussing his administration’s approach to artificial intelligence during the September 28 interview when he brought up a gathering of prominent technology executives scheduled for the following day.

As Trump attempted to recall when the meeting was scheduled to begin, he looked to Harp for the answer.

“Tomorrow’s meeting. What time is that meeting tomorrow? Two?” Trump asked.

“Noon, in the East Room,” Harp replied.

Trump then immediately turned to another detail.

“So we have everybody. Give me a list of the people at the meeting,” he said.

TIME’s published transcript confirms the exchange and identifies Harp as the aide who supplied the correct time. The magazine said its interview with Trump took place at the White House on September 28 and covered subjects ranging from artificial intelligence and the Federal Reserve to Iran and the upcoming midterm elections.

The moment was brief, but it highlighted Harp’s unusually close position inside Trump’s orbit.

The following day, Trump hosted the technology luncheon in the East Room of the White House, exactly as Harp had told him. The September 29 gathering brought together some of the biggest names in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry.

Reuters reported that attendees included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, among other technology leaders.

The White House also published photographs confirming that the luncheon took place in the East Room on September 29.

Trump used the meeting to promote his administration’s approach to the technology while emphasizing both its economic potential and possible dangers.

During the TIME interview, Trump described the emerging technology as a “whole new world” and said it could produce major advances in areas including medicine. He also acknowledged that powerful technology could bring negative consequences alongside its benefits.

That tension between rapid development and safety became one of the central issues at the White House gathering.

The participating technology companies agreed to a voluntary framework intended to strengthen safeguards around advanced systems. Reuters reported that participating companies committed to measures including independent auditing designed to verify that systems operate as intended and protections aimed at preventing unauthorized access.

The agreement is voluntary rather than a sweeping new federal regulatory regime, reflecting the Trump administration’s preference for encouraging American AI development while limiting regulations that officials believe could slow innovation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had said ahead of the meeting that policymakers were attempting to balance safety concerns with the risk that heavy regulation could weaken the United States in its technology competition with China. Democrats including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have argued for stronger safeguards as increasingly powerful systems are developed.

Trump also made another striking policy move during the event.

On September 29, he signed an executive order directing executive branch agencies to replace the terms “artificial intelligence” and “AI” with “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in many official government communications.

The order does not change the underlying statutory definition of artificial intelligence. Instead, it directs federal agencies to use the new terminology in non-statutory documents and instructs the president’s science and technology adviser to propose possible legislative language establishing a federal definition of “Super Intelligence.”

Harp’s appearance in the TIME interview was notable because she was the only aide directly identified in the published transcript during the exchange over the meeting.

She has become one of the most visible members of Trump’s personal staff and is frequently photographed traveling near the president, boarding Marine One and accompanying him at White House and public events.

Her role has drawn particular attention because of how closely she remains involved with Trump’s daily flow of information and scheduling.

In this case, that proximity played out in real time. As Trump discussed one of the administration’s biggest technology events, Harp supplied the correct meeting time before Trump asked her for additional information about who would be attending.

It was a small exchange during a much larger interview, but one that offered a revealing look at the behind-the-scenes assistance surrounding the president as he moves between interviews, meetings and major policy events.