President Donald Trump’s manufacturing council of business leaders lost a member Monday amid fallout from Trump’s handling of the weekend’s white-nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, the only black business leader in the group, resigned from it after Trump failed to explicitly denounce white nationalism in connection to the violence surrounding the protests.
By the time Trump eventually denounced white nationalists and neo-Nazis in a televised address later Monday, Frazier remained the only one to have stepped down from the council because of the weekend’s events.
The council, which was formed in January, originally had 24 CEOs involved but now has 21. Business Insider contacted the representatives of the remaining members of the council to ask for a statement on Frazier’s departure and their own plans for future participation. These were the responses:
- Andrew Liveris, The Dow Chemical Company, will remain on council: “I condemn the violence this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, and my thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones and with the people of Virginia,” Liveris said in an emailed statement. “In Dow there is no room for hatred, racism, or bigotry. Dow will continue to work to strengthen the social and economic fabric of the communities where it operates – including supporting policies that help create employment opportunities in manufacturing and rebuild the American workforce.” Bill Brown, Harris Corporation, did not respond to a request for comment.Michael Dell, Dell Technologies, will remain on council: “While we wouldn’t comment on any member’s personal decision, there’s no change in Dell engaging with the Trump administration and governments around the world to share our perspective on policy issues that affect our company, customers and employees,” a spokeswoman said. John Ferriola, Nucor Corporation, did not respond to a request for comment.Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool Corporation, did not respond to a request for comment.Mark Fields, formerly Ford Motor Company, stepped away from council after leaving Ford. Ford told Business Insider the company did not have a representative on the manufacturing council.Ken Frazier, Merck & Co., Inc., left council: “As CEO of Merck, and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson, did not respond to a request for comment.Greg Hayes, United Technologies Corp., did not respond to a request for comment.Marilynn Hewson, Lockheed Martin Corporation, declined to comment.Jeff Immelt, General Electric, will remain on council: “GE has no tolerance for hate, bigotry or racism, and we strongly condemn the violent extremism in Charlottesville over the weekend,” a GE spokesperson said in a statement “GE is a proudly inclusive company with employees who represent all religions, nationalities, sexual orientations and races. With more than 100,000 employees in the United States, it is important for GE to participate in the discussion on how to drive growth and productivity in the U.S., therefore, Jeff Immelt will remain on the Presidential Committee on American Manufacturing while he is the Chairman of GE.” Jim Kamsickas, Dana Inc., did not respond to a request for comment. Klaus Kleinfeld, Arconic, did not respond to a request for comment.Brian Krzanich, Intel Corporation, did not respond to a request for comment.Rich Kyle, The Timken Company, did not respond to a request for comment.Thea Lee, AFL-CIO, did not respond to a request for comment.Mario Longhi, US Steel, referred Business Insider to the White House and did not respond to a follow-up asking about US Steel’s participation specifically.Denise Morrison, Campbell Soup Company, did not respond to a request for comment.Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing, did not respond to a request for comment.Elon Musk, Tesla, left the council in June after Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement: “Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”Doug Oberhelman, formerly Caterpillar, did not respond to a request for comment.Scott Paul, Alliance for American Manufacturing, was unavailable for comment.Kevin Plank, Under Armour, did not respond to a request for comment.Michael Polk, Newell Brands, did not respond to a request for comment.Mark Sutton, International Paper, did not respond to a request for comment.Inge Thulin, 3M, did not respond to a request for comment.Richard Tumka, AFL-CIO, did not respond to a request for comment.Wendell Weeks, Corning, did not respond to a request for comment.
Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of private equity giant Blackstone and leader of Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, also condemned the events in Charlottesville and said he would remain as head of the Forum.
“Bigotry, hatred, and extremism are an affront to core American values and have no place in this country,” Schwarzman’s statement said. “I am deeply saddened and troubled by the tragic events in Charlottesville. My heartfelt condolences go out to the victims and their families. As the president said today, I believe we need to find a path to heal the wounds left by this tragedy and address its underlying causes. Encouraging tolerance and understanding must be a core national imperative and I will work to further that goal.
The Strategic and Policy Forum is another group of business executives that includes an array of executive from companies including JPMorgan, Disney, and Walmart.
Het bericht Merck’s CEO left Trump’s manufacturing council over Charlottesville — here’s how the rest of the council responded verscheen eerst op Business Insider.