Hope Hicks rose to international attention in 2016 as the one-woman press team for then presidential hopeful Donald Trump. She went on to become one of Trump’s longest-serving aides in a White House notorious for a high turnover rate. She’ll soon join that diaspora and reportedly intends to leave her post as communications director in coming weeks.
Despite her role, Hicks, 29, shied away from media attention and personal interviews. But Forbes sat down with her in November 2016 in her only post-election interview as part of our annual 30 Under 30 package. Here’s the transcript of that interview, in which Hicks discusses Trump, a possible tell-all memoir and what keeps her up at night.
FORBES: What do you see as the role of people under 30 in the current political landscape?
HOPE HICKS: I think that they have a tremendous role to play. Bringing new ideas and technology and creativity to the forefront. I think that if this election showed us anything, it’s that people are hungry for change and fresh perspective. And I think that that’s what we can bring. Our generation can certainly bring that to the political landscape. And I think that we saw that in 2008, in 2012, where they really helped energize a lot of different coalitions that needed to get out and vote.
And we saw different coalitions voting in this election. But I think that the millennials maybe played a different role. And it was certainly interesting to watch. But I think that there’s a lot of value that they can bring, going forward, both in Washington DC, trying to help bring about some of this change that everybody talked about on the campaign trail, not just Mr. Trump. And then certainly moving forward in campaigns and elections as we look to elect our leaders of the future.
FORBES: What’s something you wish you had known at the beginning of this?
HICKS: There’s so many things. It’s really challenging to pick just one because I knew very little about politics, obviously. I wasn’t expecting to take part in this. And certainly, not to play the role that I had. So privileged and honored to have done so, I think. I can’t pick just one thing.
FORBES: You’ve mentioned before that you’re a political novice. How did you get studied up in the lightning fast time frame?
HICKS: Look, I think campaigns and the politics of Washington DC are two totally different things. So I think now, being a novice is much more jarring than being a novice on a campaign because there are so many people that are new to it. You’re all sort of trying to just figure everything out as it comes to you, whether you know it, you have experience in it or not I think.
And a lot of it is common sense. And you can apply different experiences and try to achieve a common goal. A little different I think in Washington DC. So certainly, a lot to learn there. But I don’t know. I was really fortunate to have so many around me that were willing to help, give me advice and sort of guide me through the process.
And, you know, it was a very unique situation because we had largely a candidate and a campaign that were new to politics. So a lot of the people were new, not just me, and our candidate. So we decided that we would do things differently. And it worked.
FORBES: What were your best and worst days on the campaign trail?
HICKS: Best days were election days, when we won.
FORBES: Is there a specific one that really stands out?
HICKS: New Hampshire, winning the first primary up there. That was really special. Special moment. I think other best days would be, you know, meeting really great people and sort of having them realize what you’ve known all along. You know, sort of that belief that Mr. Trump can accomplish these things.
See your message resonating. Seeing that with the people around the country. I think those are obviously excellent days. And just when you have a plan that you’re able to execute. So often, you have a plan and it’s thrown off by several different variables on any given day. So when you have a strategy and you’re able to implement that, it’s obviously a very successful and exciting day.
FORBES: Sure.
HICKS: Worst days? When you’re not able to implement a strategy. I think that there is very little that you can control. So I learned early not to fret about, like, the loss of control. That was something I learned early on. And I think worst days are just when you don’t meet your goals because that’s what you’re all working towards. And collectively, it’s disappointing. And you know that there’s only a finite amount of time. And there is a very finite result at the end of the day. So you have to accomplish what you set out to, or else, you know, it could set you back long term.
FORBES: What keeps you up at night?
HICKS: My phone. Every reporter in America. No, I don’t sleep much, but when I do, I sleep well. You just have to accept things. Whatever it is, it is. Sometimes we would say on the campaign because you fret about all these different scenarios, best case, worst case, middle of the road, what could possibly happen. The truth is, you never know. So you just, you take each day as it comes and you’re grateful for the positive aspects of life and of work and whatever else happens. You’ll either be prepared for it and manage it or you won’t and you’ll learn from it. And that’s okay.
FORBES: What’s the biggest thing on your to-do list for the next five years?
HICKS: I’d just like to help Mr. Trump accomplish some of what he’s set out to. And if I can play even a small role in doing that, I would be honored and privileged.
FORBES: What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t doing this… unexpected thing?
HICKS: I would be on a vacation. A very long one. I think if I hadn’t gotten involved in the campaign, I would hopefully still be working at the Trump Organization in a corporate capacity. They’re such a wonderful family and they’ve built an incredible company. And it was an honor to serve them in these different ways. But certainly, I hope I would still have that role within the company.
FORBES: Who do you take inspiration from?
HICKS: Honestly, I know this may sound cliché, but the people that we’ve met along the way. They were so incredibly inspiring. You know, you think you have a bad day or a problem. And then you meet somebody who’s lost their job or is struggling to help their child get the education that they deserve and so many of these things, and yet they’re out there and they’re fighting for what they believe in. They’re excited about the possibility of change. They’re worried, but they’re optimistic and they’re hopeful. And to be able to bring that sense of hope and optimism to someone through Mr. Trump’s message is an incredible thing.
FORBES: Was there a particular person along the way?
HICKS: There are, yeah. There are. I wouldn’t want to speak about personal stories without anyone’s permission. But certainly, there are definitely people that stuck with me. And then just my family. I’m so lucky. I have the most amazing parents and my sister, she works in medicine actually. Like, I would go home after a long day and we would compare war stories. And hers were obviously far worse.
FORBES: Did you live together?
HICKS: Yeah, we did at one point during the campaign. Hers were obviously far worse. We’re, like, “Okay, let’s just online shop. I don’t think we’re gonna win this battle.” But yeah, I have a great family.
FORBES: Was your family political growing up?
HICKS: My parents actually met on Capitol Hill. That’s where they both started their careers. They met there. And then they moved from Washington to Connecticut, where I grew up. My dad was in local politics for a brief period of time. And then moved down to public relations.
FORBES: When he was in local politics, was that exciting to you? Did you see yourself in that sphere?
HICKS: A little bit. Not really. I was always very interested in it. But I think as kids, you sort of want to emulate your parents no matter what they’re doing. And I think you grow up, you realize that’s a lot harder than it seemed when you were younger. But absolutely. He’s been an incredible inspiration for me. Both of my parents have.
FORBES: What are you most proud of?
HICKS: I’m really proud to have been a part of this. It’s an incredible thing. It’s historical, obviously. And I’m really proud that Mr. Trump put so much faith in me. I’m really proud that we accomplished this amazing thing, when it sort of seemed like the odds were against us. And I’m really proud that I finished. It was absolutely a marathon, of sorts. And I’m happy to have crossed the finish line.
FORBES: When did you know?
HICKS: I’ve sort of always felt that he would. But definitively, the Sunday night before the election. We were in Michigan. It was an outdoor amphitheater in a traditionally blue collar area. Blue collar, you know, Democratic area. And there were 25,000 people in the stadium. And we had always had big crowds, 20,000, 30,000 people at times. But there was something about this crowd, it was electric. Like, you could just, like, feel their hunger for him and for the change that he was promising. And I just sensed it. It was sort of undeniable at that point, I felt.
FORBES: Do you have a piece of advice for other young people that’ll read this list? For people going into public service?
HICKS: There is no substitute for hard work. That’s what my parents have always told me. And it’s true. Of anything that you do. Whether it’s politics or finance, whatever it might be. There’s no substitute for that, so.
FORBES: Is there a message or a dimension of the campaign on which you feel you really left your mark?
HICKS: No, I think that it was all Mr. Trump. He crafted everything and delivered everything and sort of owned everything. He was obviously brilliant. And I can’t even pretend to take credit for any of that.
FORBES: But you had to go out there and deliver the message.
HICKS: Maybe help shape it at times. But he really was our, obviously, most effective messenger. He was our most prominent messenger and he was our most frequent messenger. I mean, nobody speaks for him but him. And he was the most accessible candidate ever in the history of politics in terms of media. So I think that was, you know, a strategy that we thought a lot about. And it worked very well, I would say the majority of the time. All credit goes to him.
FORBES: It’s interesting being a press secretary for a candidate who who brings his message straight to the people via social media. Was that a challenge? Was it an opportunity?
HICKS: No, it’s an opportunity. I mean, he can own a news cycle with one tweet. And I think that speaks to both the power of his presence and personality, but also his message. And his ability to captivate. It is not withheld to one medium, whether it’s Twitter or an arena or a television show. He’s, like, magnetic. People are just drawn to him in a way that’s unique and was very important to our strategy.
FORBES: Was there a gamble or a risk you took at some juncture that you feel paid off?
HICKS: Many. But I won’t tell. I’m saving those for the book… which I’m not writing.
FORBES: I was going to say, when is that?
HICKS: So…
FORBES: Okay. Well, do you have a favorite quote or?
HICKS: I do. It was on the wall in my campaign office. I’ll send it to you exactly. I don’t want to botch somebody else’s quote. But it says something like, you know, “Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm,’ and the warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’” And I sort of thought that was both a metaphor for me and the press corps.
And also for him and his campaign and sort of all of the forces, both, you know, the elites in Washington and the pundits on TV telling him, like, “No, no, no, you can’t do this, you can’t do this.” And he was, you know, sort of this powerful just, it was more than a figure. It was like a presence and it just overpowered everybody.
FORBES: Do you have someone, like, a dream client for down the road?
HICKS: Yes, Donald Trump. He’s everything.
FORBES: He’s the dream client?
HICKS: There’s nobody else.
FORBES: No one?
HICKS: Nobody.
FORBES: All right. Let’s see. Do you have free time tomorrow?
HICKS: No.
FORBES: No. Do you think you’ll have free time at all in the coming years?
HICKS: I don’t know. I’ve thought a lot about that. It’s not something I think about in a sense that I’m worried about it. But I’m curious about it. I’m wondering. But I don’t really right now. But I enjoy working, so.
FORBES: Yeah. Lifestyle wise, what was the biggest change to?
HICKS: Probably just I, like, go to bed at 9:30, wake up at 6:00, go to the gym, like, have a routine kind of a person. So being on the campaign, you are at everybody else’s whim. And so you don’t really have a routine. You don’t have time for things like that. And you kinda just have to do things while you can.
So wake up at 4:00 in the morning and, you know, go to the gym for ten minutes and sprint a mile before you get ready. It’s, like, little things like that that were, obviously. You feel like you are at everybody else’s beck and call. And that’s okay. That’s what the job is, so.
FORBES: Where are you on your way to today?
HICKS: I’m on my way to the office. We have transition meetings and some announcements. And then we’re heading to Indiana tomorrow.
FORBES: That’s right.
HICKS: Yes. Yes.
FORBES: Have you been before?
HICKS: We’ve never been to the [Carrier Corp.] plant itself, actually. Unfortunately, the last time we were in Indiana, they had just made this announcement and I think tensions were very high, obviously, with the union and the workers and the company. And so, it’s fantastic that we’re going back on a much higher note. And we’ll be sort of celebrating this great news. It’s a win for Mr. Trump, but obviously, a much, much bigger win for these workers that really deserve this.
FORBES: And you’re gonna revisit some of the places where there were rallies, right?
HICKS: Yeah, so we’ll kick off the thank you tour there. And then we’ll head to Ohio. He’ll be in Cincinnati tomorrow night. And then we’ve got about a dozen other stops planned, oh, throughout the month, so yeah.
FORBES: Well, we’ll be excited to watch it all unfold.
Parts of this interview were edited for clarity.
