President Donald Trump’s top economic advisor Gary Cohn is alleged to have drafted a letter of resignation in response to the administration’s remarks in the aftermath of the Charlottesville tragedy. The White House insists that the rumor, perpetuated by financial markets and reported by the media, is untrue.
Sparking the controversy, Cohn canceled his weekend plans "at his second home in the Hamptons" and opted for an impromptu visit to the President's New Jersey home, the New York Times reported. Days after the meeting, Cohn publicly criticized his boss for not condemning neo-Nazis and the KKK.
Cohn, who is Jewish and a Democrat, was disappointed as Trump declared “both sides” were
complicit in the ensuing violence in Charlottesville, and spoke on the record with the Financial Times:
“I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities,” the former Goldman Sachs president told the newspaper.
Although there are no cited sources on the record claiming the existence of a resignation letter, media outlets are again promoting another scandal inside the hallowed halls of the West Wing:
At some point during the past 10 days, Mr. Cohn penned a tentative resignation letter, said the three people familiar with the draft. It was not immediately clear what day the letter was written, or if Mr. Trump was ever made aware of it.
Who are these “three people” that everyone cites? And at some point, Americans need to demand that the NYT and other journalists disclose their “sources close to” or stop posting their speculative stories. But, back to Cohn.
Not to claim the resignation letter wasn’t penned; it very well could have been. But Mr. Cohn, who was intensely pressured by the left to abandon ship, has stayed put in his position:
In his first public remarks on the national dialogue about the violence, Cohn said in an interview Thursday with the Financial Times that as a “patriotic American” he did not want to leave his job as the director of the national economic council.
Cohn is a bright guy and previously thought of as a great addition the Trump administration. When he left Goldman Sachs, his salary was $21 million, but his severance package was worth around $285 million in cash and stock. Cohn accepted the position with the administration, which pays $30,000 annually. He must be a patriot, or the federal government benefits are phenomenal.
But maybe Cohn is wading into the political swamp waters for an entirely unpatriotic reason: the cushy position as Federal Reserve chairman…but only if he played nice and continued to do what he does best; advise the president on all economic issues and stop chatting with the media.
Trump has been considering Cohn for the position, and has not been shy about discussing the promotion publicly; if that is the carrot keeping Cohn hitched to the cart, early 2018 will certainly validate that Swamp gossip. However, as we have seen with previous Trump underlings, when you least expect it, heads roll without warning or mercy when the White House has had enough insider shenanigans.
Tell us what you think: will Cohn stay or will he go?
.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
