President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE reportedly made it known that he was not listening to his chief of staff, John Kelly John Francis KellyMORE, as the president announced new trade tariffs Thursday.

Two senior White House officials told The Washington Post that Trump was making a point that he was not listening to his top aide.

Those officials also said that the president's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, complained about Trump's announcement of stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and has floated the possibility of resigning.

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The New York Times also reported Thursday that Cohn warned Kelly he might resign if Trump went ahead with a plan to impose the tariffs.

Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council who worked at Goldman Sachs before joining the administration, has lobbied aggressively against the proposals.

But Trump on Thursday sided with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Wilbur Louis RossTrump 'very happy' to allow TikTok to operate in US if security concerns resolved TikTok, WeChat to be banned Sunday from US app stores The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE and others over in announcing the move to impose tariffs, which has already sparked threats of retaliation by key trading partners.

As the White House faced widespread criticism from Republican lawmakers over the tariff plans on Thursday, Kelly was at an event talking about homeland security, the Post noted.

Trump has reportedly complained to friends about Kelly in recent weeks over his top aide's handling of a domestic abuse scandal involving former White House staff secretary Rob Porter.

The chief of staff initially defended Porter, though top law enforcement officials later testified that the White House was provided with evidence of domestic abuse claims from Porter's two ex-wives long before new reports surfaced.