While the position of White House press secretary remains vacant, U.S. leader Donald Trump has made a new personnel appointment to his communications team — Beni Rae Harmony, a 24-year-old former journalist, will now serve as assistant press secretary, UNN reports, citing Newsweek.
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The publication notes that the U.S. president has still not found a replacement for press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who left the position in August, but his latest decision regarding the communications team sparked discussion after additional information about the new staffer emerged.
Harmony drew attention this weekend when a festive photograph from 2021 circulated on social media, showing her wearing a T-shirt bearing the words "F*** Joe Biden" and holding a rifle.
On Sunday, in a post on the X platform, Harmony announced that she was joining the White House team. "I am looking forward to this new chapter — serving the American people and continuing the fight for the American dream. America First," she wrote.
Who is Beni Rae Harmony?
On Friday, Harmony said that she would join the White House press office, moving from her position as a senior correspondent for Real America’s Voice — a media outlet that was initially created as a video podcast for former presidential adviser Steve Bannon.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Harmony previously worked as a press aide to Turning Point USA host Jack Posobiec, as well as deputy press secretary to Republican congressmen Paul Gosar and Matt Gaetz.
Before getting a job at the White House, Harmony accompanied the president on various trips, covering his movements for Real America’s Voice. She recently was part of the press pool covering the president’s visit to Ireland; during the return flight aboard "Air Force One," Trump was photographed with a sheet of paper that apparently had the name "Beni Rae Harmony" written at the top.
With more than 77,000 followers on Instagram, Harmony often shared material about her work accompanying the president and covering his activities.
Harmony’s appointment came amid strained relations between Trump and the press.
In September, the U.S. president barred representatives of CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from accessing the White House — a decision that was subsequently temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Meanwhile, Trump’s relations with female journalists remain a subject of controversy: since the beginning of his second presidential term, high-profile conflicts involving representatives of ABC, CNN, Fox News, NBC, and other media outlets have been reported.
Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from accessing the White House18.09.26, 22:37
Why Harmony’s 2021 photograph went viral
Shortly after Harmony announced her appointment to a position at the White House, social media users once again drew attention to several posts and photographs from her past.
The greatest response was prompted by a photograph showing Harmony posing with an older relative during the Christmas holidays while wearing a T-shirt bearing the words "F*** Joe Biden".
The photograph was posted on Instagram in 2021 by Jerome Bell, a former Republican candidate for the House of Representatives. The caption read: "My campaign director of public relations @beniraeharmony is simply a beast. This is how we work."
Harmony appears to have confirmed the photograph’s authenticity by sharing another photo in which she was also wearing the same T-shirt in 2021. She also responded to a comment on the social media platform X asking, "Daughter or girlfriend?" by writing: "Uncle."
At the time, Harmony worked as an anchor at WICS NewsChannel 20 in Springfield, Illinois, and later said that she had been suspended from work because of the post. The station’s news director, Heather Nodin, later denied that Harmony had been suspended for that reason, adding that she was not a journalist and had never been a member of the news department’s staff.