How Hope Hicks ended up on Air Force One with Trump last weekend after resigning from the White House months ago

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Hope Hicks stands on the tarmac as President Donald Trump is greeted from Air Force One at John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, August 4, 2018.

• Former White House communications director Hope Hicks was spotted at President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Ohio during the weekend.
• Hicks had planned to spend her weekend with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, but Trump got wind that she was in town and insisted she join him, according to a Vanity Fair report published Monday.
• Hicks reportedly had a light-hearted conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One and even jokingly took suggestions about her career prospects.
• Hicks said she would consider becoming Trump's chief of staff if the timing was right, according to the report.

While President Donald Trump's appearance at a campaign rally in Ohio drew crowds on Saturday, former White House communications director Hope Hicks was also at the center of attention after being spotted traveling with Trump aboard Air Force One.

Hicks, who resigned as White House communications director in February, reportedly planned to spend her weekend at one of Trump's golf courses in New Jersey with first daughter Ivanka Trump and Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, according to sources cited in a Vanity Fair report published on Monday.

But after Trump found out Hicks was in town, he asked her to join him at the rally in Lewis Center, Ohio, sources reportedly told Vanity Fair's Emily Jane Fox.

Aboard Air Force One, Hicks talked off-the-record to reporters and even jokingly took suggestions about her career prospects.

Hicks also said that if the timing was right, she would consider becoming Trump's chief of staff, a position currently held by John Kelly. Kelly is expected to stay on board until 2020, and reportedly turned down Trump's request to stay for a possible second term.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Hope Hicks and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

"She's just trying to live her life, and if everyone's going to be following her every move anyway, why not do what she wants to do?," a person familiar with the situation told Vanity Fair. "The expectation that she would totally cut herself off from the family cold turkey is unrealistic."

An unnamed sourced familiar with Hicks' thinking told the publication Hicks is working through her transition from the high-flying role she held in the White House.

"If she's going to be scrutinized anyway, she may as well enjoy herself," the person said. "No job is going to be as good as what she came off of, so you have to find a way to slow down and come back to reality."

"There's opportunities for her in finance-related jobs," the person added. "The biggest issue is finding a place where she feels comfortable. There aren't that many places where she feels safe and secure."

Veterans of the Trump administration have had a mixed success transitioning into private life, including former press secretary Sean Spicer who experienced multiple hiccups and false starts after his departure from the White House in July 2017.