A new book claims Donald Trump admitted Hope Hicks had no political experience at the start of his campaign, but it helps she's 'good-looking'

New Book Quotes Trump Saying White House Comms Director Had 'as Much Experience as a Cup of Coffee'

From steaming duties to leading a group of “misfit toys”, a new tome sheds light on one of the White House’s youngest staff members.

In their new book, Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency, former campaign manager Corey R. Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie reveal that Donald Trump launched a presidential campaign with a staff “that mostly didn’t know the difference between a caucus and a cactus” – including Hope Hicks, who was recently appointed to the position of White House communications director.

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“Hope had so little knowledge of politics [before the campaign] that when Corey told her had worked for the Kochs she asked if he knew Danny Masters, ‘he’s worked for Coke for a while,'” Hope said, allegedly confusing Kochs and Coke, Lewandowski and Bossie wrote.

Filled with stories about Trump’s junk-food diet and screaming tirades, the book gives an inside look at how such a group of “misfit toys” navigated the president-elect’s moods and a battle-filled election to achieve a presidential win. And Hicks, 29, was there from the beginning.

Before joining the campaign, Hicks was a rep for a large New York public relations firm and later worked with Ivanka Trump on her line of fashion and accessories. According to the authors, Hicks is “smart and private, with nearly a photographic memory.” When Trump asked her to his office in early 2015, it wasn’t with a request but a demand that she be his press secretary.

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“Mr. Trump sat her down and said, ‘This is your new job,'” her mother, Caye Cavender Hicks, told the New York Times. “It was a shocker.”

The surprises would continue throughout the campaign. According to the book, before big events Hicks would steam Trump’s clothes… while he was in them.

“‘Get the machine!’ [Trump would] yell. And Hope would take out the steamer and start steaming Mr. Trump’s suit, while he was wearing it!” they write.

Steaming aside, it would be Hicks, not Lewandowski, who survived the campaign. He was fired by Trump in June 2016.

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Despite their severed professional relationship, Trump still called up his former campaign manager after he won the election to reminisce. According to the book, Trump asked Lewandowski if he could believe that they’d won, especially considering, “When we started this thing, it was you and me, and an airplane. That’s all we had.”

“And we had Hope,” [Lewandowski] added, referring to Hicks, the campaign’s first communications staffer.

“She had about as much experience as a coffee cup,” [Trump said, according to the book].

“But she’s good-looking,” [Lewandowski] said.

“That always helps,” [Trump] said.

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Hicks has not yet responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

During the campaign, the New York Times interviewed Trump about his then-27-year-old press secretary.

“I’m lucky to have her,” Trump said in June 2016. “She’s got very good judgment. She will often give advice, and she’ll do it in a very low-key manner, so it doesn’t necessarily come in the form of advice. But it’s delivered very nicely.”

What about her lack of political background?

“Well, I have a lot of political experience, so I wasn’t really concerned about it,” he replied.