What Trump Told Hope Hicks When She Resigned

'I'm sorry for everything you've been through'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 20, 2018 9:15 AM CDT
How Trump Responded When Hope Hicks Resigned
A Feb. 27 photo of former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

New York magazine is out with a lengthy profile of former presidential aide Hope Hicks that provides some behind-the-scenes snapshots of her stint in the White House and her close, daughterly relationship with President Trump. (He would regularly summon her to his office by shouting, "Hopester!" or "Hopey!") Just maybe don't expect it to reveal too much, with the article leaving Ruth Graham at Slate wondering, "How is it possible to read 6,000 words of deep reporting on Hope Hicks and still not really understand her at all?" The question, though, meshes with the gist of the profile, which emphasizes that the 29-year-old Hicks was that rarity in DC: someone who shunned publicity (though also someone who cares about her public image). The story by Olivia Nuzzi recounts that Hicks considered resigning twice before eventually making the move on Feb. 28.

"She'd prayed a lot over the weekend," then opened a notebook in her White House office that morning with pro and con lists about resigning—not if, but when, writes Nuzzi. At noon, she informed Trump she was out immediately, tired not of him but of the toxic DC environment. "Before she could finish resigning, Trump interrupted her," writes Nuzzi. "He told her that he cared about her happiness, that he understood her decision, and he would help her do anything she wanted to do in her life. He said he hoped she would go make a lot of money. He also said he hoped that she would come back at some point." Then Trump added, “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through.” Click for the full profile, which deals with Hicks' high-profile personal relationships with former Trump aides Rob Porter and Corey Lewandowski. (More Hope Hicks stories.)

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