White House Defends Press Aide's 2021 Anti-Biden Rifle Photo — SkimNews
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- Beni Rae Harmony, 24, joined the Trump White House as assistant press secretary after serving as a White House correspondent for Real America's Voice, a partisan right-wing network, since September 2025.
- A November 2021 Instagram photo resurfaced showing Harmony holding a rifle and wearing a "F* Joe Biden" T-shirt alongside Jarome Bell, a far-right Republican who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2022 and identified her as his campaign public affairs director.
- When PatriotTakes, an anti-MAGA outlet, flagged the image in December 2021, Harmony appeared to confirm its authenticity by posting a follow-up photo of herself in the same shirt and same location, smiling at the camera.
- Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly called Harmony a "trusted voice" for the MAGA movement and said she would be an "outstanding addition" to Trump's communications team.
- Harmony previously worked as a producer for Turning Point USA host Jack Posobiec and as a press aide focused on "crisis management" for Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
- The appointment comes as the Trump administration has restricted press pool access for CNN, Politico, and MS Now while elevating correspondents from partisan outlets, deepening the blurred line between political advocacy and journalism in the White House press operation.
Why it matters: The Trump White House is installing a 24-year-old with no traditional journalism background — drawn directly from the pro-Trump media ecosystem and the staffs of Gosar, Gaetz, and Posobiec — into its press secretary ranks. With the administration already blocking CNN, Politico, and MS Now from the press pool, the choice cements a shift from neutral press gatekeeping to advocacy-driven communications.
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