NYT: Trump defends Hicks as Porter fallout continues
Source: CNN
By Jennifer Hansler, CNN Updated 12:49 PM ET, Sat February 10, 2018
Hicks was dating Porter, helped craft WH statement 03:13
(CNN)Amid continuing fallout from the Rob Porter scandal, Donald Trump has come to the defense of longtime confidante and White House communications director Hope Hicks, despite reports that the President was growing frustrated with her role in the situation.
"Hope is absolutely fantastic," Trump said in a statement to The New York Times released through a spokesperson Friday. "She was with the campaign from the beginning, and I could not ask for anything more. Hope is smart, very talented and respected by all."
People familiar with the matter told CNN Friday that the President was dismayed by the handling of the abuse allegations against Porter, with whom Hicks is romantically involved. Trump was not consulted when Hicks and several other aides drafted a White House statement defending Porter, and he was under the impression that Hicks had let her relationship with Porter cloud her judgment, a source familiar with the matter said. In the aftermath, Trump told associates he felt that Hicks put her own priorities ahead of his.
Hicks is one of the President's longest-serving White House confidantes, lasting through numerous campaign and White House shakeups. Stephen Miller, Trump's senior adviser and chief speechwriter, described her as having "a loyalty equaled only by her skill."
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Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/10/politics/trump-defends-hope-hicks/index.html?sr=twCNNp021018trump-defends-hope-hicks0112PMVODtop&CNNPolitics=Tw
I really do no think Trump knows how to handle anything emotional other than to lash out at folks (expect not to his loyal friends).
Link to tweet
As Other Aides Face Trump’s Ire Over Rob Porter’s Departure, Hope Hicks Is Praised
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/politics/trump-hicks-porter.html
Katie Rogers
6-7 minutes
Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, joined the Trump campaign in 2015. Tom Brenner/The New York Times
WASHINGTON — In a White House populated by aides who have flamed out, lashed out or cashed out — some do all three in the same day — Hope Hicks, the administration’s communications director, has maintained a low profile as an influential adviser of a mercurial president who prizes her loyalty.
On Friday, President Trump publicly returned the favor.
A day after the departure of Rob Porter, a White House aide who resigned amid domestic abuse accusations, the president dismissed an idea circulated by some aides and allies that he had been unhappy with Ms. Hicks’ role in workshopping an initial forceful defense of Mr. Porter. Ms. Hicks had been dating Mr. Porter until recently.
“Hope is absolutely fantastic,” Mr. Trump said in a statement released through a spokesman. “She was with the campaign from the beginning, and I could not ask for anything more. Hope is smart, very talented and respected by all.”
Ms. Hicks did not know about the specific allegations made against Mr. Porter until Tuesday, according to a White House official. That day, she met with other White House officials in drafting the initial statements sent in Mr. Porter’s defense, according to two West Wing officials.............................................
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