Trump is reportedly blaming Hope Hicks for the Rob Porter scandal

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Josh Marshall)

published 9 February 2018

President Trump is reportedly blaming his communications director, Hope Hicks, for the unfolding scandal involving former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, who resigned this week after being credibly accused of abuse by two of his ex-wives. Trump is "increasingly frustrated" with Hicks for a "myriad of reasons," CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported Friday, including that he was allegedly "not consulted when Hicks and several other top aides ... at the White House drafted that first statement initially that defended Rob Porter."

"Secondly," Collins said, "the president feels that Hope Hicks has allowed her romantic relationship with Porter to really cloud her judgment and her decision-making here."

The report caught many by surprise, especially since Chief of Staff John Kelly was the one to hire Porter. Kelly additionally did not fire Porter after learning he was not going to be given security clearance, Politico reports. Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told Fox News on Friday: "The general is there to put in policies and processes and procedures, and in this case those didn't work and we need to find out why."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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