Gary Cohn, Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser, has become the most senior administration official to criticize the president over his initial failure to condemn neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, following the clashes in Charlottesville earlier this month that left one woman dead and dozens injured.

“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 told the Financial Times in his first public comments on the issue.

Cohn, who was president of Goldman Sachs before accepting a position in the Trump administration as head of the White House national economic council, said he had come under “enormous pressure” to resign after Trump equivocated in his denunciation of white supremacist groups, saying there had been “very fine people on both sides” at the demonstrations.

The economic adviser said he had considered stand down but decided to stay on after discussions with the president. The New York Times reported he had gone as far as drafting a letter of resignation.

Cohn said he’d “felt a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people” but also “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,” Cohn added. “As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting ‘Jews will not replace us’ to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them.”

Cohn said several chief executives had urged him to stay in the administration to continue to push a pro-business agenda. Those executives included some who resigned from the White House advisory council in protest over Charlottesville, the FT also reported.

In the days following the outcry over Trump’s remarks blaming “many sides” for the violence, Trump was forced to disband two high-profile business advisory councils, the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum, after eight executives, including Campbell Soup Co CEO Denise Morrison and 3M Co CEO Inge Thulin, quit in protest over his remarks.



The Financial Times asked Cohn if his decision to stay was influenced by the firing of Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, with whom he is reported to have frequently clashed over the administration’s China policy and whose allies reportedly called him “Globalist Gary”.

Bannon’s website, Breitbart News, greeted Cohn’s criticisms on Friday with the headline: “White House Shock: 🌏Gary🌏 Trashes Trump in Press – Whitewash: No Antifa Violence, Just ‘citizens standing up for equality and freedom’”.

Cohn said his decisions were his own. “I have to do what is best for me and my family. I have had numerous private conversations with the president on this topic [and] I have not been bashful saying what I think.”

His chances of becoming the next chairman of the Federal Reserve would almost certainly be scuppered if he resigned.

Other members of the administration who had also been dismayed at Trump’s remarks had made their own decisions about how to respond, he said. “This is a personal issue for each of us. We are all grappling with it. This takes time to grapple with.”



Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is also Jewish, has defended the president and said at a White House press briefing on Friday he intended to stay in office.

“I think there’s no question the president was not equating the hate groups who were peacefully and under no circumstances was I going to resign,” the Treasury secretary said.

Trump’s confidante Roger Stone tweeted later on Friday that “Gary Cohen [sic], recommended for his White House job by Jared Kushner, should be fired immediately for his public attack on the president”.



But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that: “Gary has not held back how he feels about the situation. He’s been very open and honest.”



Cohn’s comments go beyond what most administration officials have offered in response to Charlottesville.

Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, called it an “unequivocally an unacceptable, evil attack” but offered no criticism of Trump’s tepid response. Mike Pence described Charlottesville as a “tragedy” and a “heartbreaking situation”. On a trip to Chile, the vice-president said: “The president has been clear on this tragedy, and so have I.”

Ivanka Trump commented on the violence, tweeting: “There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis. We must all come together as Americans – and be one country UNITED.” But she faced criticism for making no mention of terrorism or her father’s response.

Later today, the Republican National Committee is expected to pass a resolution condemning white supremacists at the party’s summer meeting in Nashville.

Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey who sponsored the resolution, said it was important for the committee to formally denounce white supremacists.

“I think he got it wrong a week ago Tuesday, in regards to Charlottesville,” Palatucci said, referring to the president.

Some attending the meeting expressed astonishment that the party had found itself in the position where it was forced to defend itself against accusations of racism.

“It’s amazing that we have been lured into this argument that we’re not racists. It’s absurd,” said Colorado Republican chairman Jeff Hays. “Why would we feel compelled to do that?”



But some stood by the “many sides” comment Trump made in the immediate aftermath of the clashes, “The president was not wrong to point out what the media has failed to point out” – that counter-protesters also “came for a battle” in Charlottesville, Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Val DiGiorgio claimed to Reuters.

Most impartial witnesses agreed the anti-fascists fought back in self-defense. The Guardian’s Jason Wilson, who was there, wrote: “There was violence from some counter-protesters. But most, like Heather Heyer, who was allegedly killed by one of the far-right marchers, were entirely peaceful.”