Gary Cohn, Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser, was the most senior administration official to criticize the president over his failure to condemn white supremacist groups for the violence at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.
“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,” Cohn said.
"Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. 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.
As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting “Jews will not replace us” to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them."
For those remarks, the alt-right movement has called on President Trump to fire him.
“How Cohn’s public rebuke of his boss will play inside the West Wing remains to be seen. Everything about his comments to the Financial Times seems likely to infuriate Trump, who is not known for magnanimity in the face of perceived disloyalty. The response from conservative media is likely to further exacerbate the rift. Bannon, who had already sworn to take revenge on his former colleague, “especially dislikes Gary Cohn and Dina Powell,” one right-wing media source told me last week. “So you can look for a lot of interesting articles about the two of them.” Kelly, the White House chief of staff, is reportedly clamping down on the flow of information that crosses Trump’s desk, including news stories from outlets like Breitbart, without being vetted first. But the president still has his phone, and his Twitter feed, which are now filled with outraged MAGA [Make America Great Again] devotees calling for Cohn’s head,” according to Vanity Fair’s Tina Nguyen
By Tina Nguyen
