The president’s top economic adviser says he and Donald Trump continue to have a ‘very good relationship,’ even after their public disagreement over Charlottesville.
Cohn nearly quit the administration after Trump blamed ‘both sides’ for the violence in Virginia last month at a neo-Nazi rally. He spoke openly about his chagrin in an interview that’s said to gotten under Trump’s skin.
White House officials have claimed publicly that Cohn and Trump are fine, although Trump’s snub to Cohn Wednesday during a tax event suggested otherwise.
Trump thanked a long list of lawmakers and senior staff at his Missouri speech on tax cuts but not Cohn, a chief architect of the proposed reforms.
The president’s top economic adviser says he and Donald Trump continue to have a ‘very good relationship,’ even after their public disagreement over Charlottesville
‘I have a great relationship with the president,’ insisted Friday on CNBC, addressing reports that he and Trump are on the outs. ‘We’re working well together,’ he stated.
Cohn said he and Trump had a ‘very open and robust discussion on trade and the economy and economic growth and jobs’ this week, and they’ll be traveling together again soon to promote the president’s tax plan.
‘We have a very good relationship and we’re always talking about ways to grow the U.S. economy, and put workers back to work and increase wages. That’s his mission, that’s my mission,’ Cohn told CNBC.
A senior White House official hit a similar note during a conversation with DailyMail.com on Thursday.
Cohn is a ‘significant player’ on issues at the forefront of the president’s agenda, the official said, downplaying internal divisions.
‘Gary certainly isn’t offended, and knows how important he is to the president on his tax reform package and other issues like infrastructure, obviously hurricane relief,’ the senior Trump aide posited.
NO COMMENT: Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, left, walks away from reporters after a round of television interviews at the White House this morning
Cohn, whose work directly impacts tax code changes, publicly upbraided the president last week over his comments following Heather Heyer’s death in a race-riot.
He’s said to have written a resignation letter that he did not submit because he’s waiting to see what happens with taxes.
Asked directly about speculation that he plans to leave once Congress approves the administration’s suggested reforms, Cohn said Friday on Fox Business: ‘Look, tax cuts are really important to me. I think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
‘We haven’t done tax cuts in 31 years. So to be a part of an administration that gets something done that hasn’t been done in 31 years is enormously challenging, enormously interesting to me,’ he said.
‘So, yes, I am very excited about being part of that team that is able to work on something that is that important and I think that important to our economy and that important to this country.’
Cohn waved off reporters who tried to follow up with him on the White House’s front drive after he finished speaking to the networks.
The president’s chief economic adviser Gary Cohn (left) insisted Friday: ‘I have a great relationship with the president’
Trump name-dropped a slew of senior officials and politicians on Wednesday as he began a tax reform speech – and later mentioned his daughter Ivanka’s work on childcare tax credits – but left out Cohn, even though he was in the audience.
In a litany that resembled an Academy Awards acceptance speech, Trump name-checked six Republican members of Missouri’s congressional delegation who were at the Springfield speech: Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, William Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith and Ann Wagner.
He also gave shout-outs to senior adviser Ivanka Trump, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon, Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and Lt. Gov. Michael Parson.
‘Anybody I forgot?’ Trump asked, surveying the room. ‘Good, I got it.’
President Donald Trump thanked more people than an Oscar winner on Wednesday as he began his tax reform speech in Missouri – but didn’t mention Cohn
Cohn (left), is working on the tax package but also criticized Trump loudly last week for his comments after the Charlottesville racial violence
Presidential adviser Ivanka Trump (left), Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (center, background) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were all name-checked by Trump
Mnuchin and Cohn have shared responsibilities in crafting Trump’s tax overhaul plan, but only one of them merited a presidential mention.
Cohn, who is Jewish, told the Financial Times last week that after Trump claimed ‘both sides’ shared responsibility for the violence that broke out between neo-Nazis and counter-protesters, he felt ‘enormous pressure’ to quit.
‘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 of white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan mobs.
‘As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post,’ he said, adding that ‘I also feel compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks. … Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.’
Trump’s tax speech relied heavily on Cohn, who is Jewish and considered quitting this month over Trump’s post-Charlottesville comments
The White House said later that Trump wasn’t surprised by Cohn’s interview.
‘The president … and Gary have spoken many times,’ White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters last Friday after the Financial Times story went viral.
‘Gary has not held back what his feelings are.’
Sanders told reporters Wednesday on the ride home from Missouri that the president didn’t snub Cohn on purpose.
‘It’s pretty standard practice for us not to specifically call out staff. He regularly mentions Cabinet members but very rarely mentions staff in speeches,’ Sanders said.
Aboard Air Force One, Sanders argued that Trump ‘doesn’t necessarily call out National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster even though he plays a very integral role in that process’ when he talks about foreign policy in public.
‘Look, Gary is here. The President is here. They’re both working hard and extremely committed to providing tax relief for middle-class America,’ she concluded.
‘The President has made very clear this is a top priority for him, for his administration, and Gary is one of the people leading the charge in that effort for him and will continue to do that.’
Cohn similarly told CNBC in his interview Friday that he and Trump ‘spent time talking about taxes’ in Missouri this week and they’ll ‘be out next week traveling and talking about taxes’ too.
‘He and I are spending time working together on all of the big economic issues that are going to drive economic growth and drive wages in this country. That’s what he cares about, and that’s what I care about,’ Cohn said.