The White House has dismissed a viral image that appears to show Donald Trump kissing an assistant on a golf course as a fabricated photo.
A spokesperson for the administration stated simply that the picture was “clearly a fake photo,” as debate over its authenticity spread across social media platforms. The image, which shows the US president embracing a blonde woman from behind with only the back of her head visible, has been widely assumed to depict Natalie Harp, 35, a longtime aide to Trump.
Independent fact-checkers at Snopes have identified two distinct versions of the image circulating online. The higher-resolution copy carries obvious markers of artificial intelligence generation, including hands with excess fingers and a watermark indicating creation or editing through OpenAI tools. The lower-resolution variant, however, lacks sufficient clarity for definitive analysis.
Hany Farid, co-founder of deepfake detection firm Get Real, assessed both versions for Snopes. “The higher resolution image was clearly AI,” Farid said. He added that the lower-resolution image presented “a bit of a red flag, with its authenticity inconclusive.”
The image first surfaced on X on September 14, where it drew pointed commentary about shifting political standards. One user posted: “Thirty years ago, a photo like this could have destroyed a politician’s career overnight. Today? Barely worth interrupting the news cycle.”
That same commenter continued with apparent sarcasm: “But don’t worry — I’m sure the guardians of ‘Christian family values’ are preparing their furious statements as we speak.”
The assumption that Harp appears in the image stems partly from her unusually close documented relationship with Trump. Reports said that Harp told the former president, “you are all that matters to me.”
The publication also shared a letter Harp allegedly wrote to Trump following a golf outing in Scotland, where she was filmed struggling to keep pace with his moving cart across the course. “I also am sorry if I was an embarrassment walking the course in Scotland,” she allegedly wrote.
The letter continued with an apologetic tone: “I want things to always be right between us. I also know I’ve been distracted all week (forgetting to eat throughout the days, and even forgetting to sleep, and only catching a couple hours at a time).”
She reportedly signed off: “With all my heart, Natalie.”
The Scotland incident that prompted Harp’s apology occurred during a trip where she was captured on camera running across the fairway to stay near Trump’s golf cart, footage that itself generated significant online discussion about the nature of her duties and devotion to the former president.
The emergence of the disputed image comes as Harp has gained public recognition for her distinctive role within Trump’s orbit, including her habit of carrying a portable printer to produce documents for him on demand, earning her the nickname “human printer” among observers.
The confluence of the leaked letter’s intimate language, the Scotland footage, and now the circulated image has fueled ongoing speculation about boundaries between Trump and his inner circle, though the White House’s definitive rejection of the photo’s legitimacy aims to quell that particular line of questioning.