By Damian Paletta and Renae Merle, The Washington Post WASHINGTON – The White House on Thursday took the unusual step of saying National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn would not resign, trying to contain the fallout from President Donald Trump’s controversial comments about the deadly riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend, and his assertion that “very fine people” were protesting alongside neo-Nazis. Cohn, who funded the Cohn Jewish Student Center at Kent State University in 2009, was mortified by Trump’s comments, three people close to him said, and he has been bombarded with calls from friends asking him if he will leave. Instead, the White House said Cohn plans to stay put and focus on advancing Trump’s economic agenda.