One of Donald Trump’s White House advisory council members has resigned after the US President refused to explicitly condemn white supremacists for their role in a violent protest on Saturday that left one woman dead and several injured.
Trump took to social media to criticise the African-American pharmaceutical boss’s hasty exit from his manufacturing council just one hour after Merck chief executive Kenneth Frazier explained why he quit in a statement.
Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council,he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2017
In Frazier’s exit statement, he alluded to the fact that Trump had yet to highly-criticise the actions that resulted in the violent white supremacist rally in Virginia.
“America’s leaders must honour our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all men are created equal,” the statement read.
“As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”
Now, some social media users have called out Trump for attacking Frazier.
It took him less than an hour to condemn Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier but no words yet on the white hombres. https://t.co/s9MM1oS1Tw
— Tom & Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) August 14, 2017
The White House and Trump have come under fire after Trump faulted “many sides” for the violence while failing to mention the far-right militia groups involved in the Charlottesville riot – some of whom were allegedly wearing Trump hats and T-shirts.
While White House officials have scrambled to make it known they’re against bigotry and white supremacy, Trump has come under fire from many in his own party for still refusing to speak out clearly on the matter.
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