Trump Sours On Gary Cohn After Charlottesville Criticism
Gary Cohn Image by Getty Images
President Trump is considering many candidates to head up the Federal Reserve and has soured on nominating his top economic adviser Gary Cohn to lead the U.S. central bank, according to sources close to the White House and an administration official.
Two sources said Trump remained upset with Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president, for criticizing his response to the violence sparked by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month.
A White House official said Cohn remained an essential player in Trump’s push for tax reform.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s term expires in February.
Trump was widely criticized for blaming “many sides” for the Charlottesville violence, and Cohn stood with him during a news conference at Trump Tower in New York days after the rally when the president said there “very fine people” on both sides of the rally, which was attended by neo-Nazis.
Cohn looked visibly uncomfortable during those remarks and said later in an interview with the Financial Times that the administration had to do a better job of condemning hate groups.
“He’s not getting it. Trump wants to fire him,” said one source with close ties to the White House who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The president does not forget,” said another source close to Trump, referring to Cohn’s criticism.
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