Trump adviser drafted resignation letter after Charlottesville: report

by Ben Kamisar - 08/25/17 10:01 AM ET

President Trump’s National Economic Council director reportedly drafted a resignation letter in response to Trump’s controversial comments after violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this month left one counterprotester dead.

The New York Times wrote Friday that Gary Cohn, who serves as the president’s chief economic adviser, “seriously considered resigning” from his post and had prepared a resignation letter that he ultimately did not send.

The report comes hours after the Financial Times published a new interview with Cohen where he said that “this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups.” {mosads}

Trump has faced bipartisan criticism for his comments blaming “many sides” for the violence in Charlottesville, where white supremacist groups marched to protest the decision to remove a Confederate statue there. The marchers could be heard shouting anti-Semitic and racist chants.

One woman died when a car alleged driven by a man with ties to hate groups rammed into a group of counterprotesters.

Civil rights groups and groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition called on Trump to take a stronger stance against white supremacy and anti-Semitism. While most White House officials defended Trump, some of the highest-ranking Jews in the administration — Cohn, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman — have signaled their disagreement with his comments.

Tags David Shulkin