Merck CEO resigns from Trump council over Charlottesville

Washington: Merck & Co Inc Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier (pictured) resigned from US President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council yesterday, saying he was taking a stand against intolerance and extremism.
Frazier, who is African-American, is the only CEO so far to leave one of Trump’s advisory councils because of his reaction to the violence in Virginia. Prominent Democrats and Republicans criticised Trump’s response to the violence over the weekend.
A gathering of hundreds of white nationalists in Virginia took a deadly turn on Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters and killed at least one person. Trump had said “many sides” were involved, drawing fire from across the political spectrum for not specifically denouncing the far right. “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental views by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” Frazier said in a statement announcing his resignation.
“As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism,” he said. Trump responded in a tweet, saying now that “Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to lower rip off drug prices!”
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents the pharmaceutical industry and lobbies on its behalf in Congress, declined to offer a statement of support for Frazier or to comment on Trump’s reaction.