Trump awkwardly addresses Melania’s absence in Ireland

President Donald Trump told reporters his wife was with him ‘in spirit’ after being asked about Melania’s whereabouts.

The US leader is on his second day of a state visit in Ireland, and told reporters: ‘My wife is here in spirit. She’s watching right now.

‘She said, ‘Say hello,’ because she was very friendly with these two people. I said, ‘Well, why don’t you come with me?’ She said, ‘Well, it’s a seven-hour trip. Maybe I’m not that friendly,’” Trump said.

He added: ‘I said, ‘Put on a Make America Great Again hat and come on. Let’s go.’ But, uh, she sends her regards.’

Trump was accompanied by his ‘human printer’, Natalie Harp, on his trip to Ireland.

Natalie Harp, 35, is one of the President’s closest aides and is nicknamed the ‘human printer’ because of how many articles she prints for Trump to read.

She first caught Trump’s attention in 2019, when she shared a story of how she battled bone cancer. In 2022, after working as a far-right news anchor, she entered his inner circle.

Harp’s brother, Parker, told the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t understand why my sister, or anyone, could want to work for Trump.

‘Trump is like everything that my mom taught us to respect. I think that’s where her infatuation with Trump comes from, honestly.’

She was said to have left a personal note for the President in a ‘personal space’, reading: ‘You are all that matters to me.’

Last month, instead of Melania standing by her husband’s side while overseeing the transfer of the soldiers killed in the Middle East, Harp was there.

She’s also believed to be the one in charge of his bizarre Truth Social posts.

Harp has repeatedly said Trump ‘saved her life’ by allowing experimental treatments when she was battling cancer.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.