Trump’s business councils disband
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon no longer has to weigh the pros and cons of remaining a member of President Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum.
The White House advisory council no longer exists.
The forum, consisting of some of the nation’s top CEOs, and a similar manufacturing council were disbanded Wednesday after several members departed and pressure increased over Trump’s comments about last weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Va.
The decision came less than 24 hours after Trump doubled down on his initial statement that there was “blame on both sides” of the Charlottesville violence between white supremacists and counterprotesters.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump said in a tweet that he was disbanding both advisory groups “rather than putting pressure” on the members. The Strategic and Policy Forum issued a statement saying that the business leaders had decided to leave the group.
Before the announcement about the disbanding, the chief executive officers of Campbell Soup Co. and 3M joined the ranks of business leaders leaving the manufacturing council. CEOs resigning earlier this week from the forum were Merck & Co.’s Kenneth Frazier, Under Armor Inc.’s Kevin Plank, Intel Corp.’s Brian Kraznich and the ALF-CIO’s Richard Trumka; along with Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
Disbanding the group ended what Alan Ellstrand, an associate dean and professor in management at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, described as a “nightmare scenario” for company leaders who have been balancing business interests with their corporate consciences as Trump has made some controversial remarks and policy decisions.
“It’s a political issue, and most companies hate to be in the middle of a political issue, especially something that’s controversial,” Ellstrand said. “By being on that committee, I don’t think they envisioned when they joined just how much of a political football that would turn out to be.”
Wal-Mart’s McMillon criticized Trump’s initial handling of the Charlottesville violence in a memo to employees earlier this week, saying he felt that the president had “missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together by unequivocally rejecting the appalling actions of white supremacists.”
But McMillon — who oversees a company that has 1.5 million U.S. employees — also indicated that he would remain on the advisory panel, believing that the Bentonville-based retailer should “stay engaged to try to influence decisions in a positive way and help bring people together.”
It was similar to his comments earlier this year, when Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. McMillon said at the time that Wal-Mart was “disappointed by the decision,” but he planned to remain on the advisory council because “engagement gives us a chance to do good things.”
Siri Terjesen, director of the American University Center for Innovation, said she didn’t envy the positions that CEOs like McMillon found themselves in as part of the councils. She believes they were caught between a “rock and a hard place” after the latest controversy as they weighed the pros and cons of remaining on the councils or stepping down.
Frazier was the first CEO to announce his decision to leave the manufacturing council this week after Trump’s initial remarks on the violence in Charlottesville.
“CEOs are in an incredibly tenuous position,” Terjesen said before the decision to disband the councils became public. “It’s no longer just about the quality of the goods and services provided. It’s also about the perceived public image.”
Bill Vickery, a political strategist and president of Capitol Advisors Group in Little Rock, thought McMillon’s response in the internal memo to employees was appropriate, even though it opened the company to some criticism from both sides. Trump supporters lashed out on social media at McMillon for being critical of the president, while others voiced their disappointment in his decision to remain on the advisory council.
“I thought that was a true — both political and business — stroke of genius,” Vickery said. “They can disagree with the president over a political stance on an issue and yet still want to work to affect a change. To be blunt: That kind of attitude is needed more throughout politics — not less.”
The decision to disband the Strategic and Policy Forum was made after a discussion among prominent CEOs on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News. The publication reported that the decision to end the group began when Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive officer of Blackstone Group, organized a conference call for forum members.
The business leaders discussed how to proceed and ultimately decided to abandon the group, according to Bloomberg, citing people who had knowledge about the details of the call.
The manufacturing council, which had lost several members in the past two days, also disbanded Wednesday.
“Intolerance, racism and violence have absolutely no place in this country and are an affront to core American values,” said a statement released by the forum. “We believe the debate over forum participation has become a distraction from our well-intentioned and sincere desire to aid vital policy discussions on how to improve the lives of everyday Americans.”
The advisory forums had largely been for show, according to Vickery, who believes that they were “political tools more than they are genuine agents of change.” While they provided business leaders with a seat at the table, there had been few meetings since events held early in Trump’s presidency.
So Vickery said he doesn’t believe disbanding the group will affect the opportunity of companies like Wal-Mart to weigh in on policy matters at the White House.
“I don’t know if any business council is a necessity for the major business leaders of Arkansas to be able to communicate directly into the administration,” Vickery said.
Ultimately, ending the groups removes CEOs from being in a difficult position, Ellstrand said, but the experience could affect how business leaders view similar opportunities moving forward.
“I’m sure when they joined the committee they had no idea that something like this was coming,” Ellstrand said. “It kind of makes you wonder in the future would they be a little less willing to step up and play this kind of a role because you just don’t know how, in the end, it’s going to work out.”