Could Hope Hicks' 'white lies' for Trump pave the way for a future in celebrity PR?

As Hope Hicks tearfully announced her resignation from her job as White House communications director, her boss, President Donald Trump, gave his blessing, saying he understood the desire of his loyal, 29-year-old aide and confidante to “pursue other opportunities.”

But what could those other opportunities be?

The entertainment website The Blast reports that Hicks should consider a career in crisis PR for celebrities. In fact, the site reported that some of the biggest public relations and crisis firms in Hollywood have told them that they would consider hiring her, though none are known to have made any offers.

Hicks presumably would be desirable to these firms because of her stint in Donald Trump’s campaign and White House, where she no doubt had to manage crises on pretty much a daily basis.

“We’re told in today’s ‘Weinstein-esque’ society, she would be an ideal candidate for representation,” The Blast said.

And while Hicks has often been characterized as merely a “former model” who modeled clothes for Ralph Lauren and Ivanka Trump’s brand before joining Trump’s campaign, she’s “a publicist to the bone,” Virginian Heffernan wrote in the Los Angeles Times. Hicks comes from a family of PR professionals and she formerly worked for a “fiece” Manhattan firm whose boss was the publicist for, yes, Harvey Weinstein, Heffernan said.

Once in the White House, Hicks came to be well-liked by reporters. While she would rarely go on the record, she was known to to answer calls, texts and e-mails, “a courtesy that is hardly a universal in politics,” writes New Yorker’s editor David Remnick.

Then again, The Blast said Hicks’ admission that she told “white lies” on behalf of Trump could be damaging in some PR circles, even for firms that deal with some pretty sleazy clients and situations.

“We’re told the cardinal rule of PR is ‘not lying to the media,/” The Blast said. “Giving ‘spin’ and ‘constructing responses’ that are favorable to your client are one thing … but all the experts said even ‘white lies’ can be damaging.”

As reported Tuesday, Hicks announced she was resigning one day after she testified before the House Intelligence Committee in a nine-hour closed-door session. During that session, she admitted that she was occasionally given to telling “white lies” on behalf of Trump and his White House.

Hicks seemed eager to dismiss the lies as not that consequential in the vast scheme of things, insisting she never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Some analysts are giving her props for at least admitting that she told some fibs. After all, admitting to spreading any kind of falsehood is not something that anyone in the “fake news”-spouting White House likes to do.

But Chuck Todd, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” tweeted that Hicks’ admission totally undermines her credibility as a spokesperson for Trump, or perhaps for anyone else in the future:

“After every on the record statement she gives, every reporter and viewer/reader now won’t know whether she’s speaking the truth,” Todd wrote. “Hard to justify using her quotes or statements in any story given this admission.”

After every on the record statement she gives, every reporter and viewer/reader now won’t know whether she’s speaking the truth. Hard to justify using her quotes or statements in any story given this admission. https://t.co/3ePoTdCilr

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) February 28, 2018

The New Yorker’s Remnick put Hicks’ lies into larger, historical terms, and wrote of the damage she not only did to her own reputation but to the country. He wrote that Hicks “is kidding herself if she thinks that her tenure will be judged only for harmless, situational untruths.”

“The President’s daily communications are a tangle of falsehoods, defamations, and tall tales, and Hicks was his facilitator, his defender, his explainer,” Remnick continued, adding: “The administration’s penchant for deception is injurious in many ways, not least because it devalues truth as a value in public discourse.”

The New York Times Maggie Haberman wrote that Hicks wasn’t leaving as the result of her congressional testimony; she had been talking about departing for some time. Haberman noted that Hicks had found herself caught up in a number of controversies over the past year, including investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Then there was the more recent crisis over security clearances sparked by the resignation of White House secretary Rob Porter — after it was learned that he had been accused of domestic violence by both of his ex-wives. Hicks was known to have been romantically involved with Porter and “deeply involved” in crafting Chief of Staff John Kelly’s initial defense of Porter, CNN said. As Remnick said, Hicks “hardly distinguished herself” by trying to provide cover for Porter.

But will any of these ethically questionable choices matter to certain high-powered Hollywood PR firms? The Blast said they might not.

“Regardless of her time with Trump or why she left the White House, we’re told her connection to Washington will be a huge boost in the private sector,” the site said.

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