Gary Cohn, President Trump's top economic adviser, is going to leave the administration in the coming weeks. The New York Times, which was first to report the news, says "no single reason" is prompting Cohn to quit but the decision comes after the struggle inside the White House over tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Why it matters: There will probably never be a “globalist” in Trump’s West Wing who has Cohn’s heft, and there are now zero powerful West Wing voices willing to spend all their political capital to persuade the president to kill these tariffs.
The backstory on his departure:
Cohn disagreed with Trump on just about every issue besides tax cuts — he was, and is, a Democrat. But Trump respected him and listened to him.
Cohn would tell Trump he was wrong, arguing with him and in front of him. In the early days, the hottest trade fights devolved into shouting matches between Cohn and Trump’s nationalist trade adviser Peter Navarro. Cohn has called Navarro a liar to his face, in front of other staff.
Still, throughout all this, Trump continued to listen to Cohn because he's rich and, in Trump's words, a “total killer” who had “done it all on Wall Street.” He also listened because Cohn didn’t care and acted that way.
Colleagues have told me they thought Cohn behaved throughout like he thought he was in charge. He thought he had a plan to stop Trump from putting massive tariffs on steel and aluminum, but Trump effectively told him to shove it.
“Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again.. He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.”
— Trump statement on Cohn
“It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform. I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future.”
Correction: This post previously said Trump had canceled a meeting Cohn was arranging with companies that use steel and aluminum. The meeting was cancelled, but I have been told it was a scheduling issue and Trump did not personally cancel it.
The marijuana industry is booming, but it's hard for pot growers and sellers to advertise and promote their products.
Why it matters: Most media industries don’t accept weed ads, or have rules that make it nearly impossible to place them. These challenges, combined with the changing politics around pot, are hindering marijuana marketers.
Social media companies typically don’t allow marijuana groups to purchase ads. Both Facebook and Twitter prohibit the promotion of drugs and drug paraphernalia globally.
"There's a huge problem with legal cannabis business that are basically blocked from advertising on social media," says Michael Weiss, President and Founder of Nature’s Dream, Inc., which has a mobile app to help people research different marijuana strains.
There are some digital advertising networks, like Mantis, which is aimed at people with interests like cannabis, yoga and wellness. But even those networks are limited by the publishers that accept their ads.
And getting ads acceptedon radio and television can be a nightmare. "Most TV companies will only let you advertise if you can prove that the TV station or radio station has less than 30% of listeners that are under 21 years of age," says Celeste Miranda, co-founder of The Cannabis Story Lab.
For most marijuana advertisers, marketing opportunities on radio or television are limited to late night programming, when most children are asleep, or in the middle of an adult show, like pornography.
The great exception seems to be billboards and out of home advertising.
"We're seeing a lot of marketers turn to out-of-home in place of digital opportunities," says Kyle Del Muro, a consultant with several cannabis clients. "In Vegas billboards, are becoming a big thing,"
Because paid media is so difficult, most marketers rely heavily on P.R. Many marijuana marketers are focusing on education campaigns — especially with doctors, educating them about the benefits of medical marijuana for the treatment of cancer and terminal illness.
In cannabis, it's an education-first mindset, not product first.
— Matt Rizetta, CEO of the public relations agency N6A
What's next: Politicians are slowly warming up to the idea of marijuana becoming more mainstream, with the most notable exception being Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has vowed to crack down on marijuana legalization.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told HBO's Vice News Thursday he plans to introduce a bill to “decriminalize” marijuana at the federal level.
His actions come just weeks after former House Speaker John Boehner announced that he had joined the board of advisers of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis firm that operates in 11 states.
Voters will also have the opportunity to weigh in this election cycle, with a handful of states considering their own versions of marijuana legalization this year.
