By Devangi Narang
President Donald Trump on Wednesday dissolved two of his economic and business advisory councils after a horde of CEOs resigned in the wake of his response to a white nationalist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, that occurred on Saturday. Trump announced his decision after the CEOs of 3M, Campbell Soup, Johnson & Johnson and United Technologies were the latest to quit the American Manufacturing Council.
Rather than putting pressure on the business people of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!! Trump said on Twitter. However, the Strategy and Policy Forum said it was a joint decision to disband the council, and the decision was taken even before Trump had made his announcement.
Formation of the business advisory councils
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump formed two advisory councils, namely The American Manufacturing Council, and Strategy & Policy Forum. The American Manufacturing Council was a group of prominent chief executives set up to advise Trump on domestic manufacturing initiatives. It was chaired by Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical Company. The Strategic and Policy Forum, a business forum, gave business leaders perspective on how to create jobs and accelerate the growth of the U.S. economy. It consisted of 16 members chaired by Stephen Schwarzman, the co-founder of private equity firm – The Blackstone Group, and has held gatherings since February 2017.
What went wrong?
Hundreds of protesters descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday for a Unite the Right rally by the far-right. The rally was dispersed by police, minutes after its scheduled start at noon, after clashes between rally goers and counter-protesters. After a torch lit pre-rally march on Friday night, it descended into violence.
But later that day, as rally-goers began a march and counter protests continued, an alleged Nazi sympathizer drove a car into a crowd of counter protesters, killing one and injuring 19. The rally quickly attracted other more traditional groups of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trumps reaction or lack thereof became a major story in its own right after he refused to condemn the white supremacists, initially blaming both sides for hatred, bigotry, and violence. The statement seemed like yet another example of Trump pandering to white supremacists. He said, We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides, on many sides.
#QuitTheCouncil Movement
Following this deadly attack in Charlottesville and the Presidents refusal to unconditionally denounce Nazis and white supremacists, #QuitTheCouncil trended on Twitter, putting pressure on company executives like Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsico, to sever ties with Trump. This campaign was started by non-profit group Color of Change, which fights for racial justice, to urge and convince Trumps advisors to resign.
As a result of public outcry and the Presidents limited reaction, CEOs of Intel, Merck, Campbells Soup, 3M, Under Armour, Ford Motor Company, and the president and deputy chief of staff of the AFL-CIO left their seats at Trumps golden table. By Tuesday night, at least nine members decided to drop out of the Strategic and Policy Forum individually and reached out to Schwarzman, who then proposed dismantling the council entirely.
Many CEOs had already quit the council prior to weekends events. Elon Musk of Tesla, Bob Iger of Disney, and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick all left the Presidents Strategy and Policy Forum due to Trumps immigration executive orders and withdrawal from the Paris Climate accord.
All these series of events indicate an increasing rift between Trump and corporate America. Trump was cheered for his pro-business stances when he took office but a long and tedious road awaits.
Featured Image Source: Photo by Sue Tucker on Unsplash