Melania stays home while three female aides step-in to attend Trump | US | News
Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and Anna Kelly (Image: undefined)
President Donald Trump is on the second day of his visit to meet with the Chinese leader, who brought a sizeable delegation with him.
The Republican president touched down in China on Wednesday for a three-day trip; This marks the first meeting of a US president with a Chinese leader since Trump’s last visit in 2017. Trump is trying to make political deals with Xi Jinping, including deals to buy more American food and planes.
Melania is not accompanying her husband on the trip, although he was with her during the 2017 visit. He replaced him with his son Eric Trump, daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a host of other staffers, including several high-profile CEOs, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk.
He also travels with him by three female aides, who tend to keep a relatively low profile. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly; Natalie Harp, a close aide to the president; and communications consultant Margo Martin are also part of the panel, and you may be more familiar with their work than you think.
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Who are Trump’s assistants during his visit to China?
Anna Kelly
Anna Kelly, 29, is the White House deputy press secretary and just a year older than press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, she was crowned Miss State Fair of Virginia in 2019. Kelly has had an impressive political career; His LinkedIn profile reveals that he served as communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, communications director for Tim Michels during his unsuccessful 2022 Wisconsin campaign, communications director for Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s office in the U.S. House of Representatives, and national press secretary for the Republican National Convention.
He gave an insight into life in the White House during an appearance on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, noting that he had “a lot of fun” working for the president.
“It’s extremely exciting to be a part of the process and really help fix all the mistakes of the last four years,” Kelly said.
Although many speculated that she might replace Leavitt during her maternity leave, other members of Trump’s cabinet took on the role instead.
Three female aides traveling with Trump tend to keep a relatively low profile (Image: X)
Natalie Harp
Harp, 35, has served as the president’s executive assistant since January 2025. He reportedly earned the nickname “human printer” for his habit of carrying a wireless printer to produce news for Trump on the go, according to Alex Isenstadt, author of Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Power. Harp, a California native, is a bone cancer survivor who publicly supported Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention. A former television host has joined Trump’s communications team in 2022.
Sources familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal that Harp was largely responsible for Trump’s outbursts at Truth Social. He reportedly bulk prints out draft social media posts for the president to review and sign, before logging into the president’s account and bulk uploading Trump-approved content.
This photo allegedly includes photos of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michele Obama depicted as monkeys, published on February 5 and later deleted, as well as an AI-generated image of Trump depicted as Jesus Christ, published on April 12 and deleted.
“Truth Social has never been this hot, and it’s because President Trump has delivered his unfiltered and direct thoughts to the American people, without biased media taking him out of context,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement to the WSJ. he said.
“We are not discussing internal deliberations about how the process works, but no other social media tool has been more effective than Truth.”
Donald Trump kicks off Beijing trip with Xi Jinping
margo martin
Margo Martin, 30, serves as Trump’s special assistant and communications advisor and manages his social media presence. He reportedly constantly appeared at the president’s side, capturing intimate moments with his iPhone camera that were later turned into political memes online, according to the Washington Post.
During Trump’s most recent trip to Asia in 2025, images of the former president garnered nearly 50 million views on his personal X account, as well as 222 million views on @TeamTrump Instagram.
Martin served as Trump’s press assistant throughout his first term and continued in the role after he left office in 2021. She even moved to Palm Beach, Florida, to help with social media operations at the time, once describing him as “the most beautiful photographer in the world.”
One of the recordings of Trump’s book interviews was presented as evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified documents, and he was subpoenaed before a federal grand jury.
“He has the confidence of the President,” Karoline Leavitt said of him, adding that “he can really see the inner workings of the President every day and share that with the American people.”
