You would be forgiven if you had never heard her name.
Hope Hicks is the White House Communications Director. At 29, she is President Trump’s longest serving political aide, and a certified protégée of the family dynasty. Yet she stays unusually silent for someone of her standing.
Just who is Hope Hicks, and why is her place in the administration so mysterious?
The Trump administration has become a cast of well-known stars. With the help of regular ridicules from SNL, the identities of the President’s nearest and dearest are known to most.
One cannot escape the conniving grin of Kellyanne Conway, the hopeless determination of Sarah Sanders, or the synthetic elegance of ‘Jarvanka’.
Even out of the inner circle, his secretaries are well known. Betsy DeVos, to name one, famed for her appointment as Education Secretary with no experience or interest in state education. Another public figure, Linda McMahon, is the wife of the WWE Chairman and serves as Small Businesses Secretary.
And we must not forget those passed.
It would be unjust, for example, not to include Melissa McCarthy’s SNL alter ego Sean ‘Spicey’ Spicer. And of course, those who spiralled into the firepit of controversy. Namely, alt-right mastermind Steve Bannon, NSA Michael Flynn, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and of course disgraced FBI director James Comey.
My point is that through camaraderie or scandal, Trump’s government is better known than most.
One elusive member of the Cabinet however has somehow managed to stay relatively hidden.
Despite being described as a ‘tabloid fixation’ across the pond, the name Hope Hicks would mean little to most outside of the U.S.
On the contrary, she was one of the people who initially saw the potential in a ‘President Donald Trump’. Describing him as ‘magnetic’, Hicks was first exposed to the future president working for New York’s Hiltzik Strategies, whose portfolio of clients included the Trump Organization.
She then left to work directly for the family.
Until late 2014, she worked for the fashion line of Ivanka, before moving on to the office of her father. When Trump decided to run, he assigned Hicks as press secretary, forcing her to leave the Trump Organization and dedicate her time solely to his campaign.
She remains a force to be reckoned with.
Riding the wave of success, Forbes took the decision to feature her in a ‘30 Under 30’ list for 2017. Here, she was given credit for her tight management of an outsider candidate and unpredictable campaign.
In August 2017 she was appointed WH Communications Director, replacing Anthony Scaramucci. Her position became permanent one month later.
Politico have gone so far as to label her the ‘Untouchable Hope Hicks’. However, they also note the fragility of the government, and the volatile nature of its commander-in-chief. Trump’s indecisiveness, his lack of experience and short temper make all the positions in his cabinet unstable. All, they say, except for Hicks’.
And little more is really known of her.
She can be seen lingering in the corner of many press shots, eyeing the president’s every word with penetrable interest. There are also rumours that she clashes with Press Sec Sanders and that she will soon face the hot seat in the Russia inquest.
Other than that, her slate seems relatively clear.
She is by no means hounded by the press in the same way as her colleagues, but perhaps that is because she masterfully keeps her mouth shut.
Perhaps that is her USP in the tale of Trump. She knows that the best way to survive in that government, particularly in its war with the media, is to stay silent.
And so she becomes untouchable, but how long can she keep up this act of elusiveness? Just how long can she hide in the wings before she is dragged out into the courtyard and metaphorically hanged, drawn and quartered like the rest of this administration?
More importantly, how long will she choose to stand by the President’s side?
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Joseph Howe
I first began writing for Shout Out UK in November 2015 while in my first year at university. In February 2016, while studying at the Charles University of Prague I was appointed SOUK's Politics Columnist. Since then, I have conducted interviews with MPs and civil rights activists from the U.K. and other places in Europe.
Since graduating from the University of Liverpool, I have taught current affairs in two colleges in Vienna, and am about to start a new adventure in the Houses of Parliament. Among other things, I love to travel and enjoy a very hectic social life.
