Gary Cohn Admits 'Once in a Lifetime' Chance to Cut Taxes for Rich Kept Him From Leaving After Charlottesville

National Economic Director Gary Cohn during a briefing at the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Gary Cohn Admits 'Once in a Lifetime' Chance to Cut Taxes for Rich Kept Him From Leaving After Charlottesville

"I am here just for this reason. Think about the opportunity I'm involved in with President Trump, being able to rewrite the tax code."

Though President Donald Trump's top economic advisor Gary Cohn previously said he felt "enormous pressure" to resign his position from the administration after the president's disastrous equivocating on white supremacy and racism in the wake of a violent protest by neo-nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this year, he made clear at a Thursday press conference why he ultimately opted to stay for a very specific purpose: a chance to give massive tax cuts to the nation's corporations and wealthy.

"Why am I here?" Cohn said in response to a question by the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny. "I am here just for this reason. Think about the opportunity I'm involved in with President Trump, being able to rewrite the tax code - something that hasn't been done in thirty-one years... This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would never miss this."

Watch:

As analysis after analysis has shown, the outline of the tax reform put forth by the White House is undeniably and specifically geared toward giving the nation's wealthiest corporations and families tax cuts at the expense of social service programs that will inevitably be targeted in the face of dwindling revenues those giveways will create in the years and decades ahead.

And though Cohn himself said he struggled in the wake of Charlottesville--and reports indicated he even drafted a resignation letter--his comments on Thursday make it pretty clear that nothing remains more important to him than the chance to give massive tax relief to the Americans who deserve and need it least: the filthy rich like his former colleagues at Goldman Sachs and his new billionaire boss at the White House.

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.