White House defends new press aide over old photo showing rifle and anti-Biden shirt
The White House has backed newly hired assistant press secretary Beni Rae Harmony after a 2021 photo surfaced showing her holding a rifle while wearing a shirt with a vulgar slogan aimed at Joe Biden. The 24-year-old previously worked as a correspondent for a pro-Trump outlet and has close ties to several far-right Republican figures.
The White House press office has publicly defended 24-year-old Beni Rae Harmony, who this week began work as an assistant press secretary under President Donald Trump, after a 2021 photograph resurfaced showing her posing with rifles alongside an older relative she has identified as her uncle. Both wore matching T-shirts bearing a profane slogan directed at then-president Joe Biden, with the image taken in front of Christmas decorations.
Ties to the far right
According to her LinkedIn profile, Harmony previously worked as a producer for far-right commentator Jack Posobiec and served as a press aide specializing in crisis management for Republican congressmen Paul Gosar and Matt Gaetz. In 2021, after the House censured Gosar for posting an animated video depicting violence against Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Biden, Harmony publicly defended her boss.
The rifle photograph was reportedly first posted online in November 2021 by a failed far-right congressional candidate. When an anti-Trump account circulated the image a month later, Harmony confirmed its authenticity and, when asked sarcastically about the man in the photo, clarified he was her uncle.
White House response
Deputy press secretary Anna Kelly praised Harmony as a trusted voice for the Make America Great Again movement, saying she would be an excellent addition to the communications team. Harmony joins a press office that has faced criticism for favoring sympathetic outlets with access while restricting or barring several independent news organizations.
Before her hiring, Harmony served as a White House correspondent for a partisan outlet with ties to a former Trump adviser, taking over the role from a predecessor who fell out of favor with the administration. During a press availability aboard Air Force One last month, she asked the president a series of friendly questions, and photographs showed her name appeared at the top of papers Trump was holding at the time.
Harmony previously gained attention in conservative media circles in 2025 after leaving a local television job in Illinois following an on-air tribute to a prominent conservative activist who had died.
