White House communications director Hope Hicks is willing to deliver the bad news to President Trump, and gets rewarded for it.
As his longest serving current aide, Hicks sometimes gets the messy jobs. She helped fashion the White House response to revelations about a June 2016 meeting between Donald TrumpJr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer, for example.
Hicks, 29, has helped earned the president’s trust, not by being a ‘yes woman’ but by sometimes bringing bad news his way.
‘She always has impeccable timing,’ former campaign communications aide Jason Miller told Town and Country.
‘When a bad story would come up, she would volunteer, saying, ‘I’ll just go and tell him; I got it.’ We all had to do it. She was just better at it,’ said Miller.
White House communications director Hope Hicks is willing to deliver the bad news to President Trump, and gets rewarded for it, says a former Trump aide
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 26, 2018
Miller also downplayed Trump’s reputation for blow-ups.
‘There’s a misconception about the venting, and it’s different if [the president] likes you,’ he said. ‘I was on the receiving end of his venting and he liked me, but he liked her a lot more. If he likes you, he’s mad at the situation that’s happening, not at you. If he doesn’t like you, then he’s mad at you.’
He was among a series of Trump associates who lined up to praise Hicks, a Connecticut native who joined the campaign from the Trump Organization, in the glossy profile.
‘Hope is a fantastic person and a tireless worker,’ said former (short-time) communications director Anthony Scaramucci. ‘She’s very loyal to the president, and even more important, she understands [his] vibe and instincts. She’s doing a great job, and this speaks to her maturity and professional acumen,’ he said.
White House Communications Director Hope Hicks steps from Air Force One in Morristown as U.S. President Donald Trump will spend the weekend in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., September 29, 2017
Hope Hicks, campaign spokesperson for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, attends a campaign rally at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds November 6, 2016 in Leesburg, Virginia
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens to his press secretary Hope Hicks as he tours the Flint Water Plant and Facilities in Flint, Michigan, U.S., September 14, 2016
Also chiming in is Trump confidante and Mar-a-Lago member Christopher Ruddy.
‘People just don’t see beyond her good looks,’ he says. ‘She’s got a high degree of competence. I invariably hear good things about her,’ he said.
Known for her poise and for navigating the delicate task of sorting through which media outlets get access to Trump, Hicks has also stumbled.
CNN reported Wednesday that she was involved in drafting the response to allegations of abuse from the two ex-wives that White House staff secretary Rob Porter, whom she is dating.
Hours after releasing statements standing by Porter, the White House said Monday he was resigning.