PE poo-bah favored saving Trump forum

Private equity mogul Stephen Schwarzman said he was opposed to last month’s breakup of a high-profile panel of chief executives who were advising President Trump.

The CEOs on the Strategic and Policy Forum — including Mary Barra from General Motors and Indra Nooyi of Pepsi — reportedly considered whether it was better to leave or stay after outrage erupted over the president’s comments on the clashes in Charlottesville, Va.

“People were under legitimate, astonishing pressure,” Schwarzman said at a Tuesday conference in New York, citing irate e-mails he received.

“I was accused by people of being a Nazi,” Schwarzman said. “I mean, I’m Jewish.”

Schwarzman, who leads the buyout firm Blackstone Group, said he wanted to keep the council going with the hope of influencing the White House, but his peers did not.

“Virtually anyone running a public company could not deal with the pressure of their constituents,” Schwarzman said.

The decision to disband occurred after each member — in alphabetical order — voiced individual concerns during a conference call, he said.

“By the time we got to W, it didn’t much matter,” Schwarzman said, referring to former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, who had also wanted the council to continue.

Nevertheless, Schwarzman said he still sees an argument for working with the Trump administration.

Schwarzman said the dustup after Charlottesville — in which Trump provoked anger by suggesting that anti-racist protesters shared blame with white supremacists for inciting violence — reminded him of previous culture wars seen during his lifetime.

“It was sort of unprecedented and reminded me of the 1960s,” Schwarzman said.