Business leaders desert Trump over Charlottesville

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Intel’s CEO Brian Krzanich has become the third CEO to leave the American Manufacturing Council (AMC), in a move believed to be in response to US President Donald Trump’s failure to immediately condemn far-right groups demonstrating in Charlottesville over the weekend.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich speaks following a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on February 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. /AFP Photo

Krzanich’s departure comes after the CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, Kenneth Frazier – one of the US’ most high-profile black CEOs – announced Monday he was leaving the manufacturing council with a statement that read “America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy.”

Later on Monday evening, CEO of Under Armour Kevin Plank also announced his departure from the AMC, after tweeting a strong rebuttal against racism and white supremacists.

Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck./AFP Photo

Other prominent CEOs also spoke out against racism and in support of Frazier on Monday, with Unilever CEO Paul Polman on Twitter saying “Thanks @Merck Ken Frazier for strong leadership to stand up for the moral values that made this country what it is.”

Trump also took to Twitter to strongly criticize Frazier, accusing Merck of taking away US jobs and raising drug prices. The US president’s comments quickly drew condemnation, as social media users rallied in support of Frazier.

President Trump had come under fire for his failure to explicitly condemn white supremacist groups for their actions in Charlottesville, which saw the death of one woman and 19 other people injured when a car rammed into a crowd of protesters marching against racism.

The suspect, who was arrested and charged with second degree murder, has been identified as James Alex Fields Jr., a 20-year-old who reportedly holds right-wing views.

People hold flowers at a vigil August 13, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois following the previous day's violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia./AFP Photo

After coming under pressure to speak out against racism, Trump on Monday afternoon finally told reporters that “Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs,” before singling out the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists for their role in the Charlottesville demonstrations.

The American Manufacturing Council was initially made up of 28 members when set up by the Trump administration in January this year, and features some of the US’ most high-profile CEOs and business leaders.

It was established to advise Trump on boosting manufacturing, one of his key pledges as a presidential candidate.

However, there are question marks over the purpose of the council, and whether more CEOs will follow suit. According to CNN, AFL-CIO was assessing its seat on the council on Monday afternoon, after calling on Trump to denounce "bigoted domestic terrorists."

AFL-CIO's president Richard Trumka said the AMC was "yet to hold any real meeting," and that there were "real questions about the effectiveness of this council to deliver real policy."

CNN added further that after contacting the remaining council members, only seven have confirmed that they will remain members, with other CEOs refusing to comment or responding by condemning racism.

However, this is not the first time that actions taken by President Trump have caused council members to resign in protest. In June Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, resigned from the AMC over Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change.