President Donald Trump says CEOs who have quit his White House council are „leaving out of embarrassment.“.
The Latest on reaction from U. S. business leaders on the administration’s response to violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia (all times EDT) :
4: 10 p.m.
President Donald Trump says CEOs who have quit his White House council are „leaving out of embarrassment.“
He is also saying they are „not taking their jobs seriously“ as he takes questions from reporters at Trump Tower in New York City, where he is spending a few days during a break from Washington.
Four chief executives have resigned from the White House manufacturing council in protest of the president’s failure to immediately condemn white supremacists and other hate groups after deadly violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. On Monday he did condemn those groups by name.
The parade of departing leaders from the informal panel now includes the chief executives for Merck, Under Armour and Intel and the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
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3: 25 p.m.
Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon is criticizing President Donald Trump’s initial response to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, at a white supremacist rally.
But McMillon appears willing to stay on a panel of informal corporate advisers for the president.
He says in a note to Wal-Mart employees that “ (We) too felt that he missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together by unequivocally rejecting the appalling actions of white supremacists.“
But McMillion says the president’s later condemnation of racism was a „step in the right direction.“
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2: 30 p.m.
A fourth business leader has resigned from President Donald Trump’s White House jobs panel. It’s the latest sign that corporate America’s romance with Trump is faltering after his initial half-hearted response to violence by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The chief executives for Merck, Under Armour and Intel and now the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing have resigned from the informal panel.
Alliance president Scott Paul, in a tweet, said simply, „I’m resigning from the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative because it’s the right thing for me to do.“
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