President Donald Trump's top economic advisor resigned from the White House on Monday. Cohn, a former president of investment giant Goldman Sachs and supporter of free trade, following Trump's insistence on imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
Gary Cohn was smart to resign when he did, says an ex-White House staffer. https://t.co/x5GkfDs0Cl https://t.co/tuCauQQTfI— CNBC (@CNBC) 1520431500.0
Most notably, Cohn, a Democrat, was instrumental in crafting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which slashed income taxes and overwhelmingly benefited wealthy Americans. But his departure leaves Trump nearly friendless in the White House. Cohn was "the guy" when it came to giving Trump advice on the economy. Trump is, essentially, on his own. Yikes.
First, whatever information-process, rules-of-access and paper-flow controls that his staff can devise, they do not… https://t.co/LLd21IlbxH— Jennifer Rubin (@Jennifer Rubin) 1520434685.0
Cohn is but the latest in a litany of high-profile White House officials abandoning the President.
The list of Trump White House departures as of last night @11thHour @MSNBC https://t.co/fldiyXtcTG— Jesse Rodriguez (@Jesse Rodriguez) 1520433342.0
Cohn's announcement came shortly after Donald Trump insisted during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, that "everybody wants to work at the White House."
Did you see how the President played the Media today? During the Press Conference he said, “Everybody wants to work… https://t.co/IcibigENPc— David Burke (@David Burke) 1520401604.0
In fact, Cohn's absence from the press conference was quite conspicuous.
Not sure who was missing, but there was an empty chair in White House staff seating area at the presser today. I di… https://t.co/GgRSHHWU2O— Eamon Javers (@Eamon Javers) 1520372227.0
"It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular, the passage of historic tax reform," Cohn said in a statement. "I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future."
Gary Cohn has reportedly been working behind the scenes to stop President Trump's proposed tariffs, or at least mit… https://t.co/s3FCTMjj8f— CNBC (@CNBC) 1520356628.0
The Trump White House has experienced more departures in one year than any previous administration.
All the president's departed men and women: Gary Cohn resigns https://t.co/9zJEQFIeD8— CNBC (@CNBC) 1520376798.0
Many staffers are drowning in legal bills due to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, and others simply have no credibility, having lied publicly at the President's behest on numerous occasions.
In the 242-year history of the United States, there have NEVER been as many firings, resignations and departures of… https://t.co/N2UtDjO7j9— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@Jon Cooper 🇺🇸) 1519866938.0
Cohn's resignation resulted in a drop in the stock market, which may view his departure as a sign that Trump's proposed trade war could go unchecked.
The Dow poised to open down almost 300-points following the resignation of Trump’s chief economic advisor Gary Cohn… https://t.co/SnqqoBFaDl— CNBC Futures Now (@CNBC Futures Now) 1520432161.0
A 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum and 25 percent tariff on imported steel would increase the price of goods for American consumers, according to most analysts.
@wesley_jordan @Pie_SocialMedia This is why Bush cancelled his Tariff raises. The devastating effects were almost… https://t.co/QIa2lROryF— Clifford Clark (@Clifford Clark) 1520143806.0
The European Union has hinted at economic retaliation by threatening to impose tariffs on American exports, including blue jeans, bourbon, and Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
The EU may slap a 25% tariff on imports of U.S. steel, jeans, T-shirts and bourbon https://t.co/iRaTzZJcUS https://t.co/rTtGtn0V1I— Bloomberg Politics (@Bloomberg Politics) 1520403614.0
On Tuesday, Axios reporter Jonathan Swan reported that Trump "canceled the last-ditch meeting Gary had arranged on Thursday with the downstream steel and aluminum companies."
By some estimates, Trump's proposed tariffs could cost the economy 146,000 jobs, and that's not including potentially more job losses from retaliatory tariffs.
Trump's tariffs would cost the U.S. 146,000 jobs, according to a new analysis. https://t.co/mLSvr8S15q— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1520338800.0
Chris Matthews noted on Hardball last night that "this looks like a ship that's sinking and people are jumping."
"This looks like a ship that's sinking and people are jumping." @HardballChris on Gary Cohn's resignation. WATCH: https://t.co/4njQMIzCh5— Hardball (@Hardball) 1520396344.0
Others had their opinions too, and they were pretty much in line with that of Matthews.
3/3 "The Trump administration is losing its bench even faster than it’s losing its principals," says @ezraklein: https://t.co/fZQoYpd68F— Vox (@Vox) 1520429482.0
Stephen Colbert described Cohn's exist as "another rat flees."
Stephen Colbert delivers last-minute Gary Cohn takedown: "Another rat flees" https://t.co/TPlZwvxpcW— The Daily Beast (@The Daily Beast) 1520403305.0
Colbert also joked about having a "Trump resignation fantasy league."
The "Late Show" host narrows it down. https://t.co/hfT76sn55u— HuffPost (@HuffPost) 1520409951.0