Who Is Hope Hicks? Trump Aide Tested Positive Thursday Before He Did

One of the first signs of trouble among White House senior leadership was a positive COVID-19 test result Thursday from Hope Hicks, a senior aide to Donald Trump. Just hours after Bloomberg’s initial report about Hicks, Trump revealed he also received a positive test result.

Hicks is a former model and public relations specialist who joined the Trump team early on through Ivanka Trump. She joined Trump’s real estate business to help with PR in 2014, migrating to his campaign and eventually replacing Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director. After leaving his administration for a stretch she returned as an aide to Trump, advising him on PR and traveling with him.

Hicks traveled with the president to both the presidential debate on Tuesday and a Minnesota rally the following day, reported Bloomberg. She began feeling ill after the Minnesota event and was quarantined on the plane ride home. A fast-acting test soon confirmed that she had contracted the virus.

After learning about her condition, Trump’s campaign staff announced that they would be monitoring the situation and observing quarantine procedures for her and Trump. Trump confirmed on Twitter early Friday that he and the first lady had also tested positive.

In an interview with Fox Thursday night, Trump expressed surprise that Hicks had contracted the virus and seemed to blame military and law enforcement personnel, CNN reported.

“She is a hard worker. A lot of masks, she wears masks a lot. But she tested positive,” he said, “... But it is very, very hard when you are with people from the military, or from law enforcement, and they come over to you and they want to hug you and kiss you because we really have done a good job for them. You get close, and things happen."

Most of Trump’s rallies have been held outside, but two recent events in Nevada and Arizona were indoors, raising the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Trump’s team attended the debate Tuesday without masks.

Bloomberg reported that Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign staff members have been careful not to mingle with Trump personnel, using separate entrances and rooms. Biden staffers and Biden himself took a test 72 hours before the debate to ensure they were not infected.