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Trump's Assistant McEntee Is Said to Be Fired But Joins Campaign

Trump's Assistant McEntee Is Said to Be Fired But Joins Campaign

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s personal assistant, John McEntee, was fired on Monday, according to three White House officials.

The president’s re-election campaign announced Tuesday that McEntee had been hired as a senior adviser. It wasn’t clear why McEntee, a well-liked figure in the White House, had been dismissed, and campaign aides weren’t given a reason. McEntee told fellow Trump aides that he had resigned.

People familiar with the matter said that McEntee had been able to obtain a security clearance earlier in Trump’s presidency, and speculated that any issues that led to his firing were recent developments. McEntee couldn’t be reached for comment.

McEntee, Trump’s “body man,” was one of his closest aides and had been at his side since the start of his campaign. He was known for being prepared to supply Trump with whatever he might need while aboard his campaign plane, on Air Force One and around the White House -- a drink, his jacket, or hair spray. McEntee always had hair spray and a comb at the ready, people close to him said.

Trump and his wife, Melania, treated McEntee like a son, two people familiar with their relationship said. When Trump told stories about his campaign “originals,” the aides who have been with him from the start, Melania would remind him to include McEntee.

Trump fired his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, on Tuesday, and his top economic adviser Gary Cohn resigned last week. Another of his originals, Communications Director Hope Hicks, resigned Feb. 28. His staff secretary, Rob Porter, resigned Feb. 7 after reports that two ex-wives had accused him of domestic violence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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