Fiona Hill is the former senior director for Europe & Russia at the National Security Council and testifies before Congress in the Longworth House Office Building, Capitol Hill, November 21st, 2019. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Trump called Fiona Hill "darlin" and mistook Hill for a secretary after a telephone call with Putin, Hill wrote.
Hill was the National Security Council's top Russia expert.
She wrote that Trump believed that everyone on the National Security Council was a secretary.
Check out more stories from Insider's business page.
Donald Trump, then-President, called the top Russia expert at the White House "darlin" and mistakenly thought she was a secretary during an Oval Office meeting that took place in May 2017. Fiona Hill's new book "There is Nothing for you Here: Finding Opportunity and the Twenty-First Century" explains this.
Hill was Trump's top Russia adviser on the National Security Council (NSC). She wrote in her memoir that Trump had called Hill to discuss the incident over the telephone.
She said that Trump expressed "great pleasure" over the phone call, that he thought Putin was "calm and measured", and that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump agreed. Hill, who wrote a biography about Putin, disagreed. She wrote that she felt more threatened by what Putin said.
Hill stated that she was interested in speaking out and voicing her concerns, but Trump was more interested in publishing a press release.
"He didn't care about the substance. He was only interested in the fact that he made a good call with Putin and that Jared and Ivanka had agreed to it. Hill described the whole situation as "a little surreal". Hill also stated that Trump had asked her to write up any changes he wanted to the press release. Hill initially didn't realize Hill was referring to her.
"Suddenly, he was shouting - 'Hey darlin', were you listening? Are you paying attention? According to the book, Trump stated these words to Hill. "The president clearly believed that I was part the Executive Secretariat... He asked me to write the revised press release.
Continue the story
Hill stated that she didn't know she was being asked and felt overwhelmed by the request. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump "had thought I was rude" for not answering immediately.
She stated that being mistakenly identified as a secretary was an "occupational danger," writing, Trump essentially believed everyone on the National Security Council was a Secretary in some form.
The NSC is headed by the president's national defense advisor. It provides advice on foreign policy and coordination with other agencies in related matters. Insider was told by David Rothkopf, who wrote an article on the history and current affairs of the NSC in 2019. "Trump has said he doesn't need advice." "Trump doesn't see the need for advisors in an organization that is primarily advisory."
Hill supported that assessment in her book, writing about Trump's "entirely foreign" notion of an "autonomous advisory board". Hill said that Trump was a product of a world in which he was the "one and only, exclusive boss" who set his own agenda.
She faced many other challenges while working for Trump White House. Trump wrote that he didn't consider her "part his team" because of her gender.
Hill stated that she was not going to sit down with Donald Trump to discuss Vladimir Putin, Russia or any other topic in my portfolio. Hill stated that one of the main reasons I didn't get to sit down with Donald Trump was because I was a woman and an unknown quantity. These two factors were crucial in my time at the NSC.
She said that women who worked in West Wing were more concerned about their physical appearance than those who worked at the NSC's offices.
She wrote that "In the Trump White House Ivanka Trump set the dress code of women." It was obvious that Trump and his entourage were all about the appearance, the image, and not who you are and what you do.
Hill joked that the NSC's focus on fashion and appearance was so encompassing that she went to the West Wing every day with her female colleagues.
Business Insider has the original article.
