A Natalie Harp Conspiracy Theory (Not Really)

Our Land

6 hours ago
It starts with her work at a hard-right, pro-Russia cable network
 David Corn Washington, DC, Bureau Chief Bio | Follow
President Donald Trump and Natalie Harp in the Oval Office on May 30, 2025. Francis Chung/Politico via AP

It’s very easy to be a conspiracy-monger. Let’s give it a shot.
This week, there was a hullabaloo about Natalie Harp, Donald Trump’s 35-year-old aide who’s been derisively referred to within the White House as the “Human Printer.” She’s always by Trump’s side, typing his social media posts and printing out and feeding him positive and misleading information about his presidency. (“Look, this poll shows that 110 percent of all Republican voters think you’re better looking than Jesus Christ!”) She’s also a conduit for aides and foreign leaders who want to slip Trump a message.

Your New Senator Is a Total Lightweight. She’s Perfect.

Morning Shots

Darline Graham is the very model of a modern MAGA senator

Andrew Egger, Benjamin Parker, and Jim Swift

August 21

There’s been lots of reporting lately about the breathlessly fawning personal letters Natalie Harp habitually writes to her boss. Last night, the Daily Beast released two of them in full—and they’re so, so much creepier than advertised. We don’t want you to click away, so we’ll stick them down in the Cheap Shots—and we are relying on the honor system that you won’t simply skip ahead. All we’ll say up here is: Yikes. Happy Friday.

Website behind widely shared fake election polls run by 21-year-old

 EXCLUSIVE 

Rahil Prakash tells the Guardian: ‘I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily’

Sophie Sullivan, Anna Betts and Sam Levine

Thu 20 Aug 2026 22.33 BST

A 21-year-old recent college graduate was behind an anonymous website that put out widely shared fake election polling in Wisconsin, Nevada and California, the Guardian can reveal.

Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes leaders amid Hegseth pressure campaign

4 min read
By Brian Stelter, Haley Britzky
Updated 1 hr 26 min ago

In a blow to press freedoms within the US military, the Pentagon has forced out several top staffers at Stars and Stripes, the military publication with a long record of editorial independence.

Canadian prime minister suspends trade talks with U.S., setting new 50% tariffs in motion

Trump tariffs

The import taxes will apply to hockey sticks, building materials, liquors and certain kinds of clothing. Prime Minister Mark Carney said “Canada will match 

those tariffs dollar for dollar.”

Aug. 21, 2026, 8:48 PM PDT / 

Updated Aug. 21, 2026, 9:36 PM PDT

By Steve Kopack

Trade talks with Canada collapsed late Friday night, setting in motion steep 50% tariffs on a wide swath of Canadian goods. The duties went into effect at the stroke of midnight.

China Is Not Rushing to Fill the Vacuum. It May Be Waiting for America to Exhaust Itself

Edited and Curated by Yiannis Damellos

August 21, 2026

As Washington spends military, economic, and diplomatic capital from Iran to Korea, Beijing appears to be pursuing a different kind of great-power strategy: building the infrastructure of the future and waiting for the strategic balance to move in its favor.

There is something almost unnerving about the timing. While Washington is demanding that China help isolate Iran, threatening its trading partners with economic punishment and fighting a war that has consumed enormous military and diplomatic resources, China is preparing to launch another spacecraft toward the Moon.

Iran Wants to End the War While It Can Still Claim Victory

August 21, 2026

Pezeshkian’s unusual message to Washington: Tehran is ready for an end to the conflict — but only if it can leave the battlefield claiming that it won

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian presented a compelling argument for ending the ongoing conflict with the United States, claiming that Tehran is prepared to negotiate peace only if it can assert that it emerged victorious. During a meeting with Iranian doctors, Pezeshkian emphasized that the current situation allows Iran to negotiate from a position of “power and dignity,” asserting that the war should end while the perception of Iranian strength remains intact.

Supreme Court allows Trump's ballroom construction to continue for now

Updated August 21, 2026 

4:38 PM ET
 Deepa Shivaram

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Trump can — for now — move forward with construction of his ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House without needing approval from Congress.

The new ballroom is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $300 million despite the president saying repeatedly that taxpayers would not foot the bill.

AI data center outrage is showing up everywhere from ads to elections

AI Age
Published Thu, Aug 20 2026 10:03 AM EDT
Updated Thu, Aug 20 2026 11:56 AM EDT

Ashley Capoot
Garrett Downs
Key Points

• With less than three months until the midterm elections, opposition to AI data centers is becoming a bipartisan rallying cry in a growing number of states.
• On a major primary election day, a pair of beverage companies seized on data center opposition and released a satirical ad about the facilities’ water usage.
• It was a key issue in Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, which was won by Rep. Byron Donalds. Donalds was backed by major crypto PACs, but proposed restrictions on data centers in Florida.
• That same day Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order placing harsh standards on data center development in his state.

Iran-US war latest: Tehran accuses Trump of ‘economic terrorism’ after he vows to crush it with sanctions

Over 750 members of the US military have been injured since the Iran war began

Shweta Sharma

Friday 21 August 2026 06:45 BST

Iran has accused US president Donald Trump of threatening "economic terrorism" after the US treasury said it would introduce the “toughest sanctions in history" against Tehran.

Alaska was a trial run for Democrats’ Senate majority hopes. How did it go?

 By Aaron Blake
9 hr ago 

The Alaska primary on Tuesday presented us with something unusual ahead of the 2026 midterm elections: An actual matchup between the two candidates who will face off in November in a key Senate race.

Exclusive: Navy weighs renaming carrier slated to honor Black war hero, potentially switching it to Trump

By  Haley Britzky,  Pamela Brown
3 hr ago
The US Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier under construction that was set to honor a Black sailor hailed for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, three sources familiar with internal discussions told CNN.

During President Donald Trump’s first term, the Navy announced that the Ford-class carrier would be called the USS Doris Miller, recognizing an enlisted sailor who helped defend US forces from Japan’s attack.

European leaders demand Israel halt controversial E1 settlement project in West Bank

Europe News
By Gavin Blackburn
Published on 20/08/2026 - 20:22 GMT+2•

Updated 20:23
The E1 plan was green-lit by Israel last year and would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.

The leaders of seven countries, including four EU member states, condemned a major settlement project in the West Bank and called on Israel to end expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory after authorities opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area.

Aisha Wahab wins race to fill Swalwell’s House seat, overcoming AIPAC spending

Wahab beat Melissa Hernandez to fill Eric Swalwell’s vacant seat as California’s 14th District representative

Today at 6:48 p.m. EDT

  By Praveena Somasundaram

Democrat Aisha Wahab, a California state senator, won a Tuesday special runoff to take former congressman Eric Swalwell’s seat in the House, overcoming a late intervention by the pro-Israel lobby that spent millions of dollars to oppose her. The race was called Thursday.

USS Abraham Lincoln Is Coming Home, Report Says

The USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to port at San Diego, the New York Times first reported on Thursday, after a marathon nine-month deployment in the Middle East that saw combat in the ongoing war in Iran and allegations of a mental health crisis among crewmembers.

By Zachary Folk,

Forbes Staff. I cover breaking news.

Aug 20, 2026

PBS NEWS: Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer-turned-enemy, is hosting the president on his radio show

By — Michelle L. Price, Associated Press

Politics Aug 20, 2026 3:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to appear Thursday on the radio show of his former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, making a public reunion with the man who once called him a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain" and testified against him both in court and before Congress.

FBI thwarts an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to bomb New York Capitol building

 

Jessica Bowie, 35, is accused of telling a confidential source with the FBI that she supported ISIS and asked for help learning to make explosives

Aug. 20, 2026, 11:00 AM PDT / 

Updated Aug. 20, 2026, 12:51 PM PDT

By Tom Winter, Doha Madani and Marlene Lenthang

A woman has been charged with providing support to a terror group after allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the New York State Capitol building in Albany, federal officials said Thursday.

‘We’re very close’: LeBlanc on new trade deal as premiers agree to restock U.S. booze. Live updates here.

By CTVNews.ca Staff

Updated: August 20, 2026 at 4:16p.m. EDT - Published: August 20, 2026 at 8:48a.m. EDT

Canadian trade representatives have arrived in Washington for more talks amid a tentative trade deal with the U.S. It comes after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed imposing new tariffs on Canada until later this week.

LeBlanc and Chief Negotiator Janice Charette were seen arriving shortly after noon ET at the U.S. Trade Representative offices to meet with their American counterpart Jamieson Greer. They were joined by Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s chief of staff Marc-André Blanchard.