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Ms Hicks has been at Mr Trump’s side for years
One of US President Donald Trump’s closet aides, Hope Hicks, has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.
The adviser to the president travelled with Mr Trump on Air Force One to a TV debate in Ohio on Tuesday.
She was in even closer quarters with him aboard the helicopter Marine One on Wednesday, White House reporters noted.
The 31-year-old would be the closest aide to Mr Trump to test positive so far.
She was pictured getting off Air Force One on Tuesday in Cleveland without a mask. She travelled with the president a day later to a rally in Minnesota.
The White House tests aides and anyone else who comes into contact with the president daily.
Mr Trump mostly spurns mask-wearing and is often pictured not socially distanced with aides or others during official engagements.
Ms Hicks was a campaign spokeswoman during Mr Trump’s candidacy before becoming communications director in his White House.
She stepped down in March 2018 to become chief communications officer at Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, before returning to the White House in February.
Who is Hope Hicks?
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- Brought up in Greenwich, Connecticut
- Took up modelling as a teenager and once appeared in an ad for Ralph Lauren
- Previously worked for a public relations company that handled Ivanka Trump’s fashion business and the Trump Organization’s property brand
- Joined the Trump Organization in 2014 and Donald Trump brought her on to his campaign team a year later, despite her lack of political experience
- Nicknamed “Hopester” by Mr Trump, she is said to be one of his most trusted aides and among the few who could challenge him to change his views
