PoliticsDonald Trump Posts Doctored Photo That Makes Adviser Monica Crowley Look Like a Younger Woman Who Resembles Natalie Harp
Donald Trump's recent Truth Social post sparked questions.
Sept. 25 2026, Published 12:03 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump shared a digitally altered image on his Truth Social platform that appears to show U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley as a younger woman.
The original photograph, taken by a Getty Images photographer, captured Trump greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews.
According to reports from media outlets and journalists who analyzed the differences, the shared image contains several notable, distinct modifications.
What Did Donald Trump Post?
Donald Trump posted an edited image that changed Monica Crowley's appearance.
The original image shows Crowley, a 58-year-old diplomatic adviser, with her hair blowing in her face.
In Trump's posted version, her face is replaced with a younger, stone-faced blonde woman whose hair remains perfectly still.
Independent observers and social media commentators speculated that the face was altered to resemble Trump's executive assistant, Natalie Harp, 35.
The POTUS was also accused of sharing altered images from his greeting with Xi Jinping.
Video footage and alternative photographs from the official arrival ceremony show that First Lady Melania Trump and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan accompanied their husbands. In the version posted by the POTUS, both first ladies were entirely edited out or obscured from the frame.
In the original photo and live footage, Donald is seen wincing as a military plane flies overhead while he was wearing gloves on both hands. The altered photo depicts him unbothered and stone-faced, missing a glove on his left hand.
The words "Only Trump" and decorative stars were superimposed over the leaders' heads.
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One journalist called the photo differences 'wild.'
Mediaite called the doctored image “the weirdest,” while independent journalist Aaron Rupar mused that Crowley was edited to resemble Donald’s ubiquitous 35-year-old aide.
Posting a montage of the images, Rupar wrote, “So this story is WAY wilder than I thought. The Trump post I flagged this morning because it includes Natalie Harp is actually based on the Getty photo you can see below. But there is one key difference — MONICA CROWLEY'S FACE HAS BEEN EDITED TO LOOK LIKE NATALIE HARP'S. WTF is going on here?”
Lawfare Media senior editor Eric Columbus replied, noting, “Not just the face, but the whole body was swapped? The shoes are different.”
Social Media Users Joked About Natalie Harp
Some social media users thought Monica Crowley was edited to look like Natalie Harp.
“Natalie will not let anyone replace her,” mused another.
“She won’t be ignored,” added another, along with a GIF from Fatal Attraction featuring Glenn Close saying the famous line.
“This is something out of a David Lynch movie at this point,” noted another.
“This is my thinking. Natalie took one look at that photo and said, ‘She’s too close to Donald Trump; I should be there! And I would never wear those shoes!’” joked another.
