Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hicks young but ‘wise beyond her years’
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Others have tried without much success, and now the job of keeping President Donald Trump on message has fallen to Hope Hicks, a young aide who entered his orbit not knowing the ride would eventually take her to the pinnacle of Washington politics.
Word of Hicks’ promotion to interim communications director — the 28-year-old was already in charge of “strategic” communications — landed recently just as the White House confronted one of its biggest messaging challenges.
After Trump went off script and blamed “both sides” for deadly violence between white supremacists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Va., the blowback was sharp and swift.
Repairing the breach, or at least keeping it from growing, is among the most immediate tasks facing Hicks.
She succeeds Anthony Scaramucci, the flamboyant New York businessman whose 11-day tenure as White House communications director ended after the publication of his expletive-filled interview with a reporter.
Those who have worked with the shy, former teen model describe her as trustworthy.
“Hope is wise beyond her years and is someone I trust to always be there for the president,” said Brad Parscale, the digital director of Trump’s presidential campaign who, like Hicks, was one of Trump’s few original campaign members.
Hicks avoids the spotlight, unlike colleagues who got under Trump’s skin by letting their profiles rise.
Hicks has long served as a gatekeeper to Trump and plays the role from her desk near the Oval Office. As it was during the campaign, media requests to interview the president go through Hicks, who was the only aide in the Oval Office when Trump sharply criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a recent New York Times interview. She does not appear on TV.
Parscale said Hicks is dedicated to Trump’s broader aims.
“His campaign was about millions of Americans across this country who have been left behind,” Parscale said, adding that Hicks understands that and “truly wants to see President Trump succeed.”
A former Ralph Lauren fashion model and public relations pro who worked for Trump’s daughter Ivanka, Hicks had no political background when she signed on for the celebrity businessman’s campaign in 2015. Soon, she became a one-woman communications shop. Hicks approved interview requests, often tapped out tweets that Trump dictated and remained at his side as he barnstormed the country.
She followed her parents, Paul and Caye Hicks, into the public relations business. After graduating in 2010 from Southern Methodist University with a degree in English, Hicks moved to New York and worked with Hiltzik Strategies, which has also worked for Hillary Clinton — as did her father. Paul Hicks used to do communications for the NFL, and is managing director at Washington firm.