Perth lad Phillip Hancock helped lead Donald Trump to White House return

From a quiet corner of Perth’s Hills to the world’s political stage, Phillip Hancock had a seemingly ordinary upbringing before joining Donald Trump’s successful US presidential campaign. The 29-year-old former Perth man emerged this week as being a key member of the team that helped return the president-elect to the White House. He was reportedly behind his headline-grabbing McDonald’s appearance in Pennsylvania just weeks before the vote in his role as an advancer — staffers which scout out locations ahead of campaign events. For more than a year he was the advance lead, orchestrating large-scale events with high profile figures and collaborating with the US secret service. And when an assassin attempted to take the 78-year-old politician’s life in July, only narrowly escaping with a bullet wound in his ear, Mr Hancock was on hand to pick up Mr Trump’s shoe off the stage. Mr Hancock made headlines recently after he was spotted at an event hosted by billionaire Visy Industries boss Anthony Pratt at Trump’s famed Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida’s luxurious Palm Beach. Mr Hancock has gone to ground since he was unveiled as a member of Mr Trump’s inner circle, eager to avoid further media attention. He even contacted his parents to ask them not to speak to anyone. But The West Australian found that prior to rubbing shoulders with Trump and tech-billionaire Elon Musk, Mr Hancock was a nerdy kid from the Hills who had a passion for film and politics. His parent’s bush block in Stoneville, 36km to Perth’s east, is a stark contrast from the concrete of Washington. In his early adult years Mr Hancock was pictured enjoying events with friends across Perth, from playing dress up as Thor at a house party, wearing a wig, and posing on a couch at Northbridge’s Air nightclub. His long-hair, full lip, and bright eyes appearance was likened to pop star Harry Styles or famed American musician Mick Jagger. While studying a Bachelor of Arts in communications at University of WA, where he described himself as “heavily involved” in clubs and campus culture, tutoring and volunteering at a student-run media network. Getting a taste for politics in Guild elections, it was there he produced the first social media video campaign in UWA student politics. It was also during this period when he linked in with the WA Young Liberals. While pictured helping candidates door-knock across the country from Oatley in NSW to Canning in WA, he was said to hold a background role with no official titles or on committees. He was described as quiet during his time with Young Liberals but also as “competent” with a sharp mind and a growing appetite for politics. In 2015, a then shaggy-haired, wide-eyed, grinning 19-year-old was pictured taking a selfie with then Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott at a function at Kingsway Sporting Club. It was the same year he won a prestigious scholarship with Perth free market think-tank Mannkal Economic Education Foundation. Mannkal founder Ron Manners said Mr Hancock was “one of the stars” among participants in a program educating bright young people about identifying the hidden costs of poor government policies. Already extremely skilled in social media, Mr Manners said the Mannkal training gave Mr Hancock the “economic education on how to think straight”. “He could quickly an issue an issue by the balls and give them a twist,” said Mr Manners, who was raised in Kalgoorlie and made his fortune in mining. The Mannkal scholarship sent Mr Hancock to Los Angeles for a job with film-makers Taliesin Nexus — touted as running the “world’s best artist development programs for aspiring and active storytellers”. He then went on to work at the Moving Picture Institute following presidential election campaigns in the United States. And developed a film series for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation called the Witness Project. Working with American director Hawk Jensen, he produced a 2018 short flick about the daughter of a Cuban man murdered by the Castro regime. But now he finds himself near the top of Republican politics in the United States donning the title of “Chief of Capitol Operations” ahead of the looming inauguration of Donald Trump for a second term in office. Beyond his producer and political expertise, Mr Hancock also promotes himself as proficient in Russian – attributed to assistance from his Russian-Australian mother Lena Hancock. Ms Hancock is a highly-regarded mining professional in Perth, holding a senior role at Geological Survey of WA through the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. As a mineralogist, she has worked at Curtin University and the WA Museum before joining GSWA as a HyLogger Geologist. She currently manages the HyLogger facility, which includes investigation of drillcore mineralogy, and is also undertaking a systematic study of gold in WA.