CEOs outraged after Charlottesville

US - President Trump’s initial failure to condemn white supremacy last weekend was too much for Kenneth Frazier. Monday, the head of the pharma giant Merck (MRK) and one of America’s most prominent black CEOs abruptly quit Trump’s manufacturing council. Frazier’s message was clear: “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy.” Trump quickly responded by bashing Frazier. He tweeted that the Merck CEO “will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” Hours later, Trump denounced the KKK, neoNazis and white supremacists as “repugnant.” Throughout the day, other CEOs on the manufacturing council condemned racism after the weekend’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. By Monday, two others had joined Frazier in leaving. Under Armour’s (UA) Kevin Plank had earlier tweeted a strong rejection of racism. “Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics”, Plank said. Monday, Intel (INTC, Tech30) CEO Brian Krzanich said in a blog post that he, too, was resigning “to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues.” CNN Money asked the approximately two dozen executives on the council whether they would stay. Several of them denounced hate and bigotry, others declined to comment, and some did not respond at all. But at least seven companies or executives said that they would remain with the council, which was formed in January to advise Trump on manufacturing growth a key focus of the president’s campaign. General Electric (GE) said the company has “no tolerance for hate, bigotry or racism.” But it added that chairman Jeff Immelt would stay on the council because it was important for GE to “participate in the discussion on how to drive growth and productivity in the US.” Representatives for at least five other companies Dow Chemical (DOW), Whirlpool (WHR), Campbell Soup (CPB), International Paper (IP) and Nucor (NUE) echoed similar sentiments. They all released statements that condemned racism or welcomed tolerance. But they also said they’d stay on the council so they could advise the government on ways to strengthen manufacturing. Dell said there was “no change” in how it is “engaging with the Trump administration” on policy issues that affect the company.

(CNN.COM)