Coronavirus disrupted Hicks’ return to D.C.
When she returned to the White House on March 9 after two years away and a lucrative stint in corporate PR, Hope Hicks was supposed to be a talisman to re-create the magic of President Donald Trump’s against-the-odds 2016 campaign.
Hicks grew up in Greenwich and graduated from Greenwich High School in 2006, where she was cocaptain of the lacrosse team.
The Russia investigation that she had been caught up in was over, the impeachment had just ended and the headlines about her personal life were largely forgotten. With a new title and a bigger office, she was set to be the main liaison between the White House and the Trump re-election campaign, charged with interpreting a volatile boss and keeping him focused on a message about the thriving economy.
Two days later, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a national pandemic.
Since then, the virus has claimed more than 212,000 American lives, tanked the economy and forced millions out of their jobs or school, imperiling the president’s re-election prospects. But it may never have been more palpable for Trump than the moment last week when Hicks took ill - closely foreshadowing his own sickness.
Hicks is rarely seen — her disdain for the spotlight is matched by her loyalty to the man who loves nothing more. But for the president she is ever-present. Whatever her title, her unspoken job description has been to prevent reality from intruding on him. She has managed his moods and counseled him on nearly everything, from the most substantive to the trivial. Until last week, she spent more time with him than almost anyone else outside his family. “She is trusted because she isn’t driving her own policy agenda. She is looking out for him,” said former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders,