For Hope Hicks, the coronavirus marked a challenge unlike any other — trying to develop a communications strategy for the president to carry with a wartime footing in an election year
Returning to the West Wing just a month after impeachment, one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers found a presidency in crisis: a deadly disease outbreak, a tumbling stock market and a White House struggling to form a clear message about how it was confronting a quickly escalating threat.
“She understands the president is the message. It cannot be outsourced to anyone,” said Tony Sayegh, one of Hicks’ friends and a former assistant secretary of the Treasury and close aide to Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “He is at his strongest when he is communicating directly with the public. Her instincts are impeccable and lead to good decisions.”
Aides and close allies have begun to question the decision to give him so much airtime, according to interviews with a dozen current and former senior administration officials and Republicans close to the White House. And critics charge that the White House’s overwhelmingly positive messaging — on reopening the economy, testing, the manufacturing of supplies — is belied by reality.
“A lot of other people would not have done that, but it is a testament to his leadership that he was the one who wanted to deliver that news, so he could be honest with the American people but also offer a message of hope.” So, Hicks accepted a job as a counselor to the president, working within the office of Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, where she intended to travel and offer advice heading into the November election.
Hicks’s return, current and former senior administration officials say, gave the president a loyal and trusted aide. With her quick-witted sense of humor, she tends to get along with the majority of staffers inside the backbiting White House, and she can deliver advice to the president in an unfiltered way without angering him because Trump trusts her and views her like another daughter or member of his family.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump grapples with a surprise threat: Too much TrumpSome allies worry President Trump is damaging his reelection prospects with his dominance of the briefing room during a public health and economic crisis
Read more »
Family diaries kept during Spanish flu give Ohio descendants hope during coronavirus pandemic“While a global pandemic shuttering schools and businesses feels like new territory, many of our families still bear the scars of the 1918 influenza pandemic,” Amy Patterson says.
Read more »
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson hope their blood helps the coronavirus fightTom Hanks said on a recent podcast that he and his wife, actress/singer Rita Wilson, want to donate their blood to research because their blood now carries coronavirus antibodies.
Read more »
\u201cThe Day I Almost Died \u2014 But Instead Found Hope\u201d'I decided to seek a private diagnosis. I truly believe that not only did this decision transform my life, but possibly saved it. The diagnosis itself lifted most of the guilt. Finally, an explanation. Not an excuse. My whole life made complete sense.'
Read more »
Global stocks jump on Bank of Japan stimulus, hope of lockdowns easing - Business InsiderEuropean and Asian stocks and US futures rose on Monday, driven by the promise of government support and economic recovery.
Read more »
'I’m not that scared': People flock to beaches again, bringing hand sanitizer and hopePeople flock to Southern California beaches in Orange County and Ventura County, trying to practice social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak.
Read more »