--- title: Steve Mnuchin: Yale Alums Call on Classmate to Resign description: Hundreds of alums from Yale's Class of 1985, the same Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin graduated with, have called on him to resign canonical: https://time.com/4907740/steve-mnuchin-yale-class-resign-donald-trump/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-19T14:08:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:09.217Z article:section: Politics og:title: Steve Mnuchin: Yale Alums Call On Classmate to Resign og:description: 'We are counting on you to do the right thing' og:url: https://time.com/4907740/steve-mnuchin-yale-class-resign-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfedeb7546676ed86/6988da5e86f68e8dc56e611e/gettyimages-671240574.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5164 og:image:height: 2905 og:image:alt: steve mnuchin resign yale og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Steve Mnuchin: Yale Alums Call On Classmate to Resign twitter:description: 'We are counting on you to do the right thing' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfedeb7546676ed86/6988da5e86f68e8dc56e611e/gettyimages-671240574.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Do the Right Thing.' Steve Mnuchin's Yale Class Wants Him to Resign Over Donald Trump > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EzwfOun0.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2017-08-15. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that anti-racism protesters bear some of the blame for the violent rallies in Charlottesville, returning to his original comments that "both sides" were responsible for the deadly clashes._ by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Aug 19, 2017 2:08 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump (L) listens as Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin (R) delivers remarks in the US Treasury Department building. U.S. President Donald Trump (L) listens as Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin (R) delivers remarks in the US Treasury Department building. Photograph by Shawn Thew—Pool/Getty by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Aug 19, 2017 2:08 PM UTC Hundreds of alums from [Yale’s](http://time.com/4826721/yale-college-dean-resigns-yelp-reviews-june-chu/) Class of 1985, the same group that Secretary of Treasury [Steve Mnuchin](http://time.com/4832219/donald-melania-trump-mnuchin-wedding/) graduated with, have called on their former classmate to resign. “We call upon you, as our friend, our classmate, and as a fellow American, to resign in protest of President Trump’s support of Nazism and white supremacy. We know you are better than this, and we are counting on you to do the right thing,” [reads a letter posted online ](http://lettertostevemnuchin.com/)from more than 300 Yale alums. Matthew Countryman said he first proposed the idea in the Yale Class of 1985 [Facebook](http://time.com/money/4904454/americans-love-ordering-pizza-on-facebook/) page, where he was met with “instant” support, [according to CNN.](http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/18/news/mnuchin-letter-yale-classmates/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom) The letter also notes that many Yale alumni have served in United States government in various positions, including as president without rarely, if ever, calling for a resignation. “We do so today because President Trump has declared himself a sympathizer with groups whose values are antithetical to those values we consider fundamental to our sacred honor as Americans, as men and women of Yale, and as decent human beings,” the letter added. The letter also makes a point of noting that the letter is not meant to be political saying, “We can be Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, and a number of other things and still be friends, classmates, and patriots, but we cannot be Nazis and white supremacists.” ## Transcript I've condemned neo- Nazis, I've condemned many different groups, but not all of those people were neo- Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists. I think there's blame on both sides. You look at both sides I think there's blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it. What about the alt- left? They came charging, as you say, at the alt- right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? [ CROSSTALK ]. Let me ask you this, what about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs, Do they have any problem? I think they do. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left, you've just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that's they way it is. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, to them, a very, very important statue, And the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name . >> [ UNKNOWN ] George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Excuse me. Are we going to take down statues to George Washington How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think about Thomas Jefferson? You like him? I do love Thomas Jefferson. Okay good. Are we gonna take down the statue? Cuz he was a major slave owner. Now are we gonna take down his statue? So you know what? It's fine. You're changing history. 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