![Regional media day at the White House, Gary Cohn / [Image by The White House via Flickr, Public Domain]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/8/25/660x290/b_502x220x82/regional-media-day-at-the-white-house-gary-cohn-image-by-the-white-house-via-flickr-public-domain_1531917.jpg "Regional media day at the White House, Gary Cohn / [Image by The White House via Flickr, Public Domain]")
The White House was forced to respond to reports that President Trump was privately enraged by his National Economic Council Director's response to comments he made about Charlottesville. Violence broke out at a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia between Nazi-sympathizers and counter-protesters which resulted in the death of three people. One of them was 23-year-old Heather Heyer who was one of 20 counter-protesters who were plowed into by a car driven by a self-proclaimed white nationalist. Two police officers were also killed when the helicopter they were using to monitor the rally from the air, crashed.
Gary Cohn would have been one of many to resign Trump White House
Trump's National Economic Council Director, Gary Cohn - who is Jewish and is known to donate to Jewish causes - did an interview with the Financial Times where he expressed his disappointment that the President did not do enough to condemn those hate groups. It was also reported that Cohn drafted a letter of resignation after the President's controversial statements but he never signed it nor did he mention it to anyone at the time.
He said that he ended up throwing it away submitting to his view that as a part of the administration, he felt it was his duty to work on behalf of the American people. On Friday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that they expected Cohn to speak out and are not surprised, downplaying the suggestion that Trump was furious.
President's controversial statements
Americans were hoping that the President would condemn white nationalists, white supremacists, neo-nazis and members of the "alt-right" movement, all who have publicly admitted to being Trump supporters, for inciting violence at the rally. After the deaths were reported, Trump's wife Melania was the first one to tweet out a statement that referred to the incident and in doing so, made the President's late statement look like less of a priority.
When the president finally made a statement to the press from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, he blamed "both sides" for the violence, making those who opposed the hate groups appear to be just as bad as the ones who were responsible for the deaths. He would eventually make a formal statement to call out those hate groups by name on the following Monday, but by Tuesday and in defiance of the expectations from the public and his aides, the President doubled-down again in an angry tirade blaming both sides and singling out what he referred to as the "alt-left".
Cohn's future
Cohn was not the only one to respond to the President's lack of moral authority as lawmakers and other politicians had already done so. The President's more extremist base see Cohn as member of the federal elites who they believe need to be purged by the Trump administration. While it would appear that the President is still supportive of Cohn, Trump's supporters are demanding Cohn's removal.
This has likely created a problem for Cohn's opportunities with a president who puts loyalty to him as priority above everything else. Cohen could have left the administration as many were already being purged by senior staff who were looking for a new direction for the White House. Cohn being a more moderate balance to the administration, could have left the president stranded where he would tread water by himself.
