Gary Cohn drafts resignation, later changes his mind
Gary D Cohn, the director of the White House Economic Council, wrote a resignation letter after President Trump blamed “both sides” in the deadly protest this month against a Charlottesville, Virginia, rally by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, according to three people familiar with the document.
Cohn ultimately changed his mind and decided in recent days to remain on as Trump’s chief economic advisor, said one person familiar with his thinking.
But in a stunning critique of the president, Cohn told The Financial Times in an interview published on Friday that the Trump administration “can and must do better” to condemn hate groups and “do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities.” Cohn is an architect of a broad set of tax reforms that the White House hopes will deliver the first legislative victory of Trump’s tumultuous administration. But Cohn was anguished, according to a friend and two other people familiar with his thinking, by Trump’s remarks after the August 12 violence that resulted in the death of a 32-yearold woman who was protesting neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan demonstrators in Charlottesville.
On August 15, Cohn stood nearby in the lobby of Trump Tower, where the president told reporters there also were “very fine people on both sides” of the Charlottesville rally. After Trump left, Cohn stood uncomfortably fielding questions about the president’s statements, and he repeatedly declined to comment. He debated for over a week with his wife and friends on whether to quit, according to the people familiar with his thinking. This week, Cohn decided to remain in his job, believing he could be more effective as a public servant inside the White House than out of it.