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Hicks has been by Trump’s side for years
One of United States President Donald Trump’s closet aides, Hope Hicks, reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.
The president’s adviser traveled with Trump on Air Force One to a television debate in Ohio on Tuesday.
She was even closer with him aboard the Marine One helicopter on Wednesday, White House reporters noted.
The 31-year-old would be Trump’s closest aide to test positive so far.
But there is no indication that the president himself contracted the disease, which has infected more than 7.2 million Americans and killed more than 200,000 of them.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Trump and first lady Melania Trump are now awaiting the results of their own tests.
Ms. Hicks was photographed leaving Air Force One Tuesday in Cleveland without a mask. She traveled with the president a day later to a rally in Minnesota.
The White House screens its aides and anyone else who comes in contact with the president on a daily basis.
Trump mostly rejects the wearing of masks and is often shown without social distancing with his aides or others during official engagements.
According to Bloomberg News, Ms. Hicks is experiencing symptoms of the disease and was quarantined on Air Force One on the return trip from Minnesota.
White House spokesman Judd Deere did not confirm Ms. Hicks’ medical condition.
But he said in a statement to the US media: “The President takes the health and safety of himself and all who work to support him and the American people very seriously.”
Ms. Hicks would be the last White House aide to contract Covid-19. Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive in May and recovered.
That same month, a member of the U.S. Navy who was serving as one of Trump’s personal valets tested positive for coronavirus.
But the White House said neither the president nor the vice president were affected.
National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, several Secret Service agents, a Marine One pilot and a White House cafeteria worker also tested positive, US media report.
Ms. Hicks was a campaign spokesperson during Trump’s candidacy before becoming his White House communications director.
She resigned in March 2018 to become director of communications at Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, before returning to the White House in February.
Who is Hope Hicks?
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EPA
- Raised in Greenwich, Connecticut
- He started modeling as a teenager and was once featured in a Ralph Lauren commercial.
- She previously worked for a public relations firm that ran Ivanka Trump’s fashion business and the brand owned by the Trump Organization.
- She joined the Trump Organization in 2014 and Donald Trump added her to his campaign team a year later, despite her lack of political experience.
- Nicknamed “Hopester” by Trump, she is said to be one of his most trusted aides and one of the few people who could challenge him to change his mind.
