Fiona Hill, former adviser to the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump, has complained that her gender affected the fact that the ex-POTUS did not consider her a “part of his team," Business Insider reports citing Hill’s new book, "There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century."
According to the media outlet, Hill complained that she “was never going to have any kind of sit-down with Donald Trump to talk about Vladimir Putin or Russia,” with the major reason for that being “a woman, and a completely unknown quantity at that.”
“These two factors became critical in shaping my time in the NSC," wrote Hill, former senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council during the Trump administration.
"As far as President Trump was concerned, my academic and professional credentials and expertise were irrelevant. For all intents and purposes, as a woman and an outsider, I was not part of his team," she added.
Hill also mentioned how, during one meeting, Trump mistook her for a secretary and, when she paused, asked her “Hey, darlin’, are you listening?” The Washington Post notes.
Afterwards, a senior female official suggested to Hill to never wear “that same outfit” to a meeting with Trump, as he apparently “always noticed what women were wearing,” the newspaper adds.