United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday disbanded two business advisory councils after more corporate chief executive officers quit over his handling of the recent violent clashes in Charlottesville, reported Reuters. The president announced his decision after the heads of 3M, Campbell Soup, Johnson & Johnson and United Technologies were the latest CEOs 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,” Trump said on Twitter. However, the Strategy and Policy Forum said it was a joint decision to disband the council, even before Trump had made his announcement.
On Tuesday, Trump had blamed both sides for the violence that left one woman dead and several others injured. He had also blamed left-wing supporters for charging at the “alt-right”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Non-profit group Color of Change had urged PepsiCo Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi to step down from Trump’s business advisory council. The organisation, which fights for racial justice, had launched a campaign called #QuitTheCouncil to convince Trump’s advisors to resign.
On Monday, three CEOs – Kenneth Frazier of Merck, Kevin Plank of sportswear retailer Under Armour and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich – had quit Trump’s council, following his delayed and controversial response to the Charlottesville riots.
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