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Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks resigned on February 28, 2018, roughly 13 months after Trump took office as the President of the United States. During that time, Hicks, 29, established herself as one of the most stable figures in the President's orbit. While experienced political players and powerful friends of Trump found themselves being fired, discarded, and left behind, Hicks remained steadfastly by the Trump's side, content to stay out of the spotlight as she managed the White House communications almost by herself. A new article published in New York Magazine, however, delves into the enigmatic figure's time at the White House and her eventual decision to leave.
I spent some time with Hope Hicks during the last several weeks. She declined to speak on the record. This is the r… https://t.co/iY03ePj40Z— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivia Nuzzi) 1521422703.0
During her time in President Trump's administration, some pundits painted her as a naive youngster, swept up in the President's wake. That may not have been the case.
“Hope Hicks wasn’t a victim; on this both her allies and critics agreed ... She had made her choices knowingly, eve… https://t.co/phgrN0EG6v— Eugene Scott (@Eugene Scott) 1521434888.0
Hope Hicks wrote two lists: "One list contained reasons to resign as White House communications director immediate… https://t.co/TsqvzFIJdr— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Adrian Carrasquillo) 1521423504.0
It turns out Hicks' family actually has a deep background in politics:
Hicks was raised in Greenwich; PR and politics were recurring themes in her family. Her maternal grandfather, G.W.F. "Dutch" Cavender, had served in the Department of Agriculture under Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon; her maternal grandmother, Marilee Cavender, had worked at the Department of Transportation; her mother, Caye Cavender Hicks, had been an aide to Ed Jones, a Democratic congressman from Tennessee; her father, Paul Hicks, was the spokesman for the NFL. He'd once worked as an aide to Stewart B. McKinney, a Republican congressman from Connecticut, and, in the '80s, had served as part of the local Greenwich government.
Apparently, Hicks thought of resigning long before she ended up pulling the trigger...
Nuzzi also has some more details on Hicks' previous near-departures and how long she had been thinking of it, along… https://t.co/7ZTL8847MS— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1521427464.0
She was branded "The Trump Whisperer" due to her uncanny ability to judge the President's moods and influence him when no one else could.
“Trump also had a different relationship with Hicks than he did with his children, who keep what the source called… https://t.co/MSERc2rwHi— Eugene Scott (@Eugene Scott) 1521441439.0
After spending so much time together, The President and Hicks developed their own style.
"She even sounded a little like him sometimes, uttering words like loser in her sugary voice." https://t.co/yYZ4HTMcp4— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1521423853.0
The article is chock-full of strange and fascinating details:
This piece is absolute catnip for me, right down to the weird detail about "THE WILDERNESS SHALL BLOSSOM AS THE ROSE."— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1521424130.0
"One of the only cases of Hicks speaking on the record was in an interview for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, in whic… https://t.co/2CrIP3UPfF— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1521424522.0
But, no matter her faults, everyone had to admit these Valentine's Day gifts were pretty sweet (if a bit strange).
Btw, here is one of the notes Hicks wrote to WH staff on Valentine's Day: https://t.co/zn4Ia0G4ko— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivia Nuzzi) 1521428419.0
But a few days later, when the end came, it hit hard.
Good description of the WH negative news cascade triggered by a story about Hope Hicks & Rob Porter canoodling in a… https://t.co/DMrCjOm2RL— Garance Franke-Ruta (@Garance Franke-Ruta) 1521426961.0
“The report prompted Hicks and Porter to break up, but the feeling around Washington was that the saga was the prod… https://t.co/Y6vjxxMwmr— Jonathan Lemire (@Jonathan Lemire) 1521427326.0
Unlike some other figures in politics, Hicks doesn't seem to be a wholly unsympathetic figure.
One thing to bear in mind about Hicks - she spent a lot of time defending staff who worked for her and some who di… https://t.co/7UL2TIQwBe— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1521428990.0
Nonetheless, readers can't tear themselves away from the expose.
Everything about this Hope Hicks story from @Olivianuzzi is beautiful and perfect and right around "THE WILDERNESS… https://t.co/VTCVcbWE2y— Jessica Pressler (@Jessica Pressler) 1521430378.0
This Hope Hicks profile by @Olivianuzzi is as good as everyone's saying https://t.co/G4jq9bxWci— Pete Vernon (@Pete Vernon) 1521460843.0
Now that Hicks has departed, the White House has entered a new era devoid of a "Trump whisperer." Some believe Hick's absence has influenced the departures of Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson, and, to a degree, Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Who is next? Sadly, Hicks isn't around to figure it out.
H/T - Twitter, New York Magazine