Trump Advisor Gary Cohn Reportedly Faked a Bad Connection to Get Off a Call with the President
Donald Trump’s chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn, recently faked a bad phone connection to get off a call with the president, a Democratic senator revealed Wednesday.
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware told CNN that Cohn answered a call from Trump while Democratic senators were in a meeting discussing tax reform.
About 15 minutes into the conversation, the president, who was calling from Asia, was still talking. That’s when Carper recalls suggesting to Cohn: “Gary why don’t you do this, just take the phone from, you know, your cellphone back and just say, ‘Mr. President, you’re brilliant! But we’re losing contact, and I think we’re going to lose you now, so goodbye.’ ”
Democratic Sen. Tom Carper says White House economic adviser Gary Cohn faked a bad connection to get President Trump off the phone so they could have a conversation on tax reform without him https://t.co/qcUnSEsysl
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 22, 2017
“And that’s what he did, and he hung up,” Carper added.
A CNN anchor then asked Carper to confirm that Cohn actually faked a bad connection to get off the phone with Trump.
“Well, I wouldn’t — I don’t want to throw him under the bus, but yes,” the senator replied.
The White House, on the other hand, said Carper’s account of the call was “completely false.”
“Gary Cohn took the phone off speaker and continued to speak with the president privately for several minutes before they concluded the call,” said Raj Shah, White House principal deputy press secretary, in a statement to CBS News.
But the denial didn’t stop Twitter from mocking Trump over the alleged fake-out.
gary cohn: crinkle crinkle hissing sound weird echo
trump: did you just say the words 'crinkle crinkle hissing sound'
cohn: oh no dropped call— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) November 22, 2017
Gary Cohn… Welcome to The Resistance pic.twitter.com/iqmC4m5M3e
— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) November 22, 2017
Ok this is fun. And you thought no story about the Trump administration could be fun... :) https://t.co/1BZNzuw8bm
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) November 22, 2017
DT's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn faked a bad connection to get off the phone with him. DT is officially Gary Cohn's mother-in-law.
— Brandon Besserer (@BrandonBesserer) November 22, 2017
Gary Cohn faked a bad connection with Donny to get out of talking to him - can we replicate this on a national level, public-to-president?
— Negin Farsad (@NeginFarsad) November 22, 2017
If I get down today, I will lighten the mood by imagining Gary Cohn making crackling and wooshing noises and then hanging up on Trump.
— Jon Becker (@jonbecker) November 22, 2017
Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive, has clashed with Trump in the past.
In August, he spoke out against Trump’s controversial response to the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Cohn allegedly wrote a resignation letter at the time, but ultimately decided to remain in his position, The New York Times reported.
