Trump’s economic advisor quits
Gary Cohn was miffed with Prez over imposition of new trade tariffs ◗
Washington, March 7: Gary Cohn, who resigned Tuesday afternoon as President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor, had been a standard bearer for the Wall Street ethos in an administration propelled to power by strident nationalism.
But having lost a bruising internal battle over Trump’s sudden decision last week to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Cohn finally threw in the towel, confirming days of speculation that he was on the way out.
In a brief statement, Mr Cohn, 57, said it had been “an honour to enact progrowth economic policies” — a reference to the $ 1.5 trillion tax cuts of December. Mr Trump praised him as “a rare talent.”
Mr Cohn had always been an uneasy fit, a former president of investment bank Goldman Sachs and long- time Democrat who clung to the traditional centrist, pro- business mindset.
Tensions with Trump already erupted last year when Mr Cohn, who is Jewish, said he considered resigning after Mr Trump balked at condemning neo- Nazis and far- right extremists who had led a violent rally in
Tensions with Trump already erupted last year when Mr Cohn, who is Jewish, said he considered resigning after Mr Trump balked at condemning neo- Nazis and far- right extremists who had led a violent rally in Virginia in August
Virginia in August.
He also opposed Trump’s decision early last year to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
Mr Trump’s far- right supporters derisively dubbed Cohn “Globalist Gary” and in the end he was outgunned by West Wing protectionists who prevailed on Trump to please his political base of support by imposing tariffs.
Mr Cohn’s departure was likely to unnerve markets already rattled by Trump’s decision to impose punishing tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent and aluminum.
In after- hours trading on Tuesday, futures were already pointing to a rocky start on Wednesday morning with an implied drop of more than 350 points at the open for the Dow Jones Industrial Average toward 2400 GMT.
Mr Cohn had worked on Wall Street since the 1990s and was one the firm’s best known public faces, making frequent television appearances to talk about the health of financial markets and the global economy.