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US President Donald Trump announced the disbanding of two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after several chief executives quit in protest over his remarks blaming weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists who opposed them.
A parade of prominent Republicans and US ally Britain also rebuked Trump after his comments on Tuesday about the bloodshed in the college town of Charlottesville further enveloped his seven-month-old presidency in controversy, paralyzed his policy aims and left him increasingly isolated.
The site where Heather Heyer was killed when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into anti-racist demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, August 16, 2017.
Trump announced the dissolution of the American Manufacturing Council and Strategic and Policy Forum, whose members included some leading American business figures, after eight executives including Campbell Soup Co CEO Denise Morrison and 3M Co CEO Inge Thulin quit the panels.
Both of the councils were moving to disband on their own when Trump made his announcement on Twitter.
A memorial service was held on Wednesday in Charlottesville for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, killed when a car plowed into the anti-racism protesters. A 20-year-old Ohio man said to have harbored Nazi sympathies has been charged with murder.
Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, was elected president in November touting his experience in the business world and ability to strike deals.
But some of the Republican president's actions and words have alienated many corporate leaders.
The Strategic and Policy Forum was headed by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a close ally of Trump in the business world. Schwarzman organized a call on Wednesday for member executives to voice concerns after Trump's comments, and an overwhelming majority backed disbanding the council, two sources said.
Car attack victim Heather Heyer's coworker Alfred Wilson speaks about her during a memorial service for her at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia, US, August 16, 2017
Schwarzman then called Trump to tell him about the decision to disband, and the president subsequently announced he was the one pulling the plug on the panels.
"Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville," Morrison said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon, a member of one of the panels, said he strongly disagreed with Trump's reaction to the events in Charlottesville, adding in a statement that "racism, intolerance and violence are always wrong" and "fanning divisiveness is not the answer."
Dow Chemical Co Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, who headed the manufacturing council, said he told the White House on Wednesday that "in the current environment it was no longer possible to conduct productive discussions."
Trump said on Twitter, "Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both."
The Strategic and Policy Forum was intended to advise Trump on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation and productivity. The manufacturing council was designed to promote US job growth.
Along with the snubs from business leaders, Trump was rebuked by a string of Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham and former US presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
The president needs the support of fellow Republicans as he tries to push his policy agenda, including tax cuts, through a Congress that is controlled by the Republicans.
Few public figures have voiced support for Trump over his response to the violence. Vice President Mike Pence, who is cutting short a trip to Latin America, told reporters in Chile that "I stand with the president and I stand by those words."
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke praised Trump's "honesty and courage." Richard Spencer, head of a white nationalist group, lauded the president for "speaking the truth."
US stocks ended slightly firmer but off the day's highs as investors worried that the backlash to Trump's remarks could stunt his ability to deliver on pro-business promises.
(REUTERS)
