"[T]his relationship is pathological, and a source of great irritation among other courtiers. It is Trump distilled to his essence..."

"... cult leader and his most rabid follower, narcissist and his most flattering mirror. The daughter of a devoutly Christian real estate broker who died by suicide during the pandemic, [Natalie] Harp idolizes Trump with a rare fervor.... ... Trump told his staff that Harp was the only one who loved him as much as his wife and kids did. 'She’ll never leave me,' he would tell other staffers.... It’s a perfect (taxpayer-funded) relationship. She thinks he’s amazing. And he agrees."

Writes Maureen Dowd, in "Natalie’s Magnificent Obsession" (NYT gift link).

"Obsession" is the title of a current movie that is, as Dowd tells us, "about a man who wishes for more adoration from a young woman, who falls under his spell and maniacally provides it." 

I haven't seen it. And I haven't seen "Magnificent Obsession," but I know it's a 1954 movie starring Ronald Reagan's first wife:

ADDED: After reading Dowd's column, I scribbled this at Grok, writing quickly, without the intention of sharing it, but I'm sharing it:

I'm interested in they way many women in the workplace are competitive with other women in a way that's actually sexist — judging that other women are getting more than they deserve because of their looks and/or imagining that sexual things are going on. They're actually impeding the progress of women... or are they trying to help some subset of women by pulling particular women down? (I'm thinking about the reaction to Natalie Harp.)

And then I connected the Natalie Harp foofaraw to this passage from "President Kennedy: Profile of Power" (commission earned) that my son Chris — reader of presidential biographies — had just texted to me last night. We join the Cuban Missile Crisis in progress.

"She is a platinum blonde geyser of positivity, there to buck him up when the going gets rough."

I'm reading "'With All My Heart, Natalie.' Trump’s Most Devoted Aide Emerges. President Trump’s White House aide Natalie Harp is always by his side. What, exactly, does she do?" by Shawn McCreesh and Maggie Haberman, in the NYT (gift link).

They're talking about Natalie Harp because"she was chosen to join the president on the secret food-delivery-truck rescue gambit" and because Senator Jon Ossoff, a potential Democratic Party nominee for President, observed, "[Trump] doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.'"

The Times article also refers to Harp as a "sylphlike woman."

The quote "With all my heart, Natalie" — seen in the article headline is the sign-off of a letter Harp wrote to Trump in which she apologized for attracting press coverage as she walked a golf course as Trump played golf and, naturally, used a golf cart. I guess that looked foolish to some observers looking for one more thing to revile. I haven't read about the incident, but I suspect she wanted the exercise. I've walked golf courses as a spectator. It's normal for spectators to walk.

"The letter goes on to say: '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).'"