Of course not...

Mnuchin: 'Under no circumstances was I going to resign' after Charlottesville

By LOUIS NELSON

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that "under no circumstances" was he planning to resign after President Donald Trump’s remarks that "both sides" were to blame for the violent clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Trump’s remarks were widely panned by politicians across the political spectrum and many accused him of equivocating between the hate groups and protesters who had gathered to object to their presence.

“I think you know I put out an extensive statement earlier last week on my view of the situation,” Mnuchin, who is Jewish, said at Friday’s White House news briefing. “I think there's no question that the president was not equating the hate groups with people who were peacefully [protesting] and under no circumstances was I going to resign.”

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, who is also Jewish, told the Financial Times in an interview published Friday that “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 also said that “citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.”

Cohn said in the interview that he had "come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position.”

He said that he was reluctant to leave his job over the president’s remarks “because I feel a duty to fulfill my commitment to work on behalf of the American people,” but he also felt “compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks.”

“As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting, ‘Jews will not replace us’ to cause this Jew to leave his job,” he said.

At Friday’s news briefing, Mnuchin said he and Cohn were working together on tax reform, a top legislative priority of the president’s.

“Gary and I have known each other for 20 years. I can tell you I’m speaking to him every day,” Mnuchin said. “His No. 1 focus is absolutely working on tax reform with me and getting tax reform done, and Gary is committed to be here, and I couldn't be more excited about that. “