American business leaders desert Trump
Backlash over president’s response to Charlottesville continues as Republicans step up their criticism
Donald Trump was at the centre of a political storm over his comments on the Charlottesville racist violence. He was forced to close two business advisory councils as chief executives abandoned him, and both former presidents Bush released a statement denouncing “bigotry”.
‘America must always reject racial bigotry, antisemitism and hate in all forms’
Nick Allen
Harriet Alexander
DONALD TRUMP was abandoned by business leaders and lambasted by senior Republicans yesterday amid a fierce backlash over his comments in response to violence by white supremacists in Charlottesville.
The president was forced to disband two advisory councils as the high-profile chief executives that made up their membership jumped ship. This came amid a chorus of public disapproval from Republicans led by former presidents George HW Bush and George W Bush – who issued a rare joint statement condemning “bigotry” and quoting the Declaration of Independence – and from military leaders.
Theresa May was among international figures who issued a rebuke to the president.
Mrs May said: “I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them, and I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn farright views wherever we hear them.”
Mr Trump made several conflicting statements over several days about Saturday’s events in Charlottesville, Virginia, at which Heather Heyer, 32, an anti-fascist demonstrator, was killed and three dozen others were injured.
The Unite the Right rally was a protest against Charlottesville’s decision to take down a statue of Robert E Lee, the Confederate Civil War general.
Those protesting against removing the statue waved swastikas, carried torches and chanted far-right slogans.
In a bad-tempered press conference on Tuesday Mr Trump made clear that he believed there was “blame on both sides,” and that included what he called the “alt-left”. He said there were “very fine people on both sides”.
His comments sent shock waves across America and he was accused, including by many Republicans, of suggesting a “moral equivalence” between neo-nazis and anti-fascist protesters, and emboldening white supremacists.
Disbanding his two business advisory councils, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: “Rather than putting pressure on the business people of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!”
But chief executives had been leaving since Saturday in protest at his ambivalent condemnation of events. The remaining business leaders made clear it was their decision to distance themselves from the White House.
The strategic policy forum comprised 19 people, including the heads of General Motors, Wal-mart and IBM.
Denise Morrison, chief executive of Campbell Soup, said: “I believe the president should have been, and still needs to be, unambiguous.”
The two former Presidents Bush, both Republicans, said: “America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-semitism and hate in all forms.”
The statement name Mr Trump.
Many senior Republicans avoided criticising the president directly in past controversies, but several figures did not hold back. John Mccain, the Republican senator, said: “There’s no moral equivalency between racists and Americans standing up to defy hate and bigotry. The president of the United States should say so.”
Mitch Mcconnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, said: “There are no good neo-nazis.”
In a separate development, Mr Trump appointed Hope Hicks, 28, a long time aide, as his new acting communications director, filling the role left vacant by Anthony Scaramucci. did not specifically
For big business, having the leader of the free world’s ear is a lucrative lobbying opportunity. This is why America’s business leaders agreed to sit on panels in the first place. But for global companies, being part of president Donald Trump’s business coterie is no longer anything to be proud of following his absolute failure to swiftly condemn the violence and ugly neo-nazi views that have been aired in Charlottesville.
In a radical departure from the cosy business relations Trump boasted of upon his election, the demise of his Strategic and Policy Forum and the Manufacturing Council yesterday shows how far Trump has fallen in credibility and the discomfort many feel in aligning with his views.
The president, of course, responded to reports of the dissolving of the business panels by claiming that their end was his decision. “Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople … I am ending both”, he tweeted.
But it is understood that members of the forum – which included leaders of the world’s biggest institutions, such as Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan boss, and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman – were already in urgent talks about disbanding in protest at his weak response to the nationalist rally.
Prior to the dissolving of the Manufacturing Council, there had been eight resignations in protest at the president’s failure to denounce white supremacists by name. Merck chief executive Ken Frazier, the only African American on the council, was the first to say he felt a responsibility to “stand against intolerance and extremism”.
Such a stance should be considered the minimum qualification to run a global business that employs thousands across the world. But within hours Trump displayed his toddler temper tendencies by lashing out at Merck’s “higher and higher drug prices” and called on the company to “bring jobs back”. Rather than investors taking fright, Merck’s share price rose on the day.
The pressure had been mounting on other business leaders to join Frazier in his opposition, but many initially said they would stay on Trump’s panels in order to try to influence from the inside. But trying to influence someone who has different views to you only works if that person is willing to listen, and Trump has served his tenure so far with fingers stuck firmly in his ears.
At the start of the year, the nowousted Uber boss Travis Kalanick defended his seat on Trump’s council following the president’s immigration ban by arguing that he was “going to use my position … to stand up for what’s right”. Uber was swiftly punished by a customer boycott that pushed Kalanick to change his stance.
Companies are, of course, concerned that speaking out will put them at risk of the president’s wrath. When Trump took office his tweets about Lockheed Martin’s rising costs of fighter jets sent its share price crashing, prompting consultancy firms to spring up offering “tweet risk” services. Amazon yesterday lost $5.7bn (£4.4bn) of its value after the president accused the online giant of “doing great damage to tax paying retailers”
– a move thought to have been provoked by a critical editorial in the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.
But this is a president who casually tweets about starting World War III with North Korea. His scattergun firing of threats should not concern business as his credibility lessens with every 140-character missile.
The business leaders who stepped down from Trump’s panels before they were put out to pasture should be applauded for being bold in their convictions. Helping to prop up a president as divisive as he is cannot make America Inc great again.
‘Helping to prop up president Trump cannot make America Inc great again’
Will Elliott-akzo peace last?
A war can only have one winner. But in the battle between Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel and activist Elliott, both sides seem to be claiming victories. Peace has broken out after the Dutch group agreed to three new independent directors on its board to soothe concerns about weak corporate governance. It has also confirmed the €10bn (£9.1bn) full spin-off of its speciality chemicals division.
Elliott claims these both as wins, but it failed to secure a €28bn Akzo Nobel takeover by PPG and lost its court battle to oust Antony Burgmans, the chairman. Compared to the takeover, a spin-off looks like small fry. But the activist firm, which has a 9.5pc stake, has already made a big return as the Dutch paint group’s shares are up 30pc since it started targeting the company. We’ll have to wait to see how long peace will last.