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The unpresidential president frames the collapse of his business councils as his choice even though an exodus of CEOs began with his initial weak response to the Charlottesville tragedy -- and it just got worse from there.
The White House's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative and its Strategic and Policy Forum disbanded Wednesday after President Trump partially blamed the "alt-left" for this weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Va., and sympathized with supporters of Confederate monuments.
The business executives who make up the two councils -- which are mostly ceremonial but serve as symbolic alliances between the White House and corporate America -- began jumping ship after Trump's abysmal behavior over the past few days. Leaders of companies like Merck, Under Armour, Tesla, and Intel left the manufacturing council after Trump's response to Charlottesville on Saturday, when he said there were "many sides" to the issue.
Under intense pressure, Trump on Monday condemned the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who marched on Charlottesville. But he abruptly reversed course on Tuesday, with an epically disastrous press conference that will likely define the rest of his presidency.
A conference call took place between remaining members of the councils Wednesday morning and the decision to disband was made, according to The New York Times. Per usual, Trump lied about what went down and claimed he made the decision to close the councils. Sure, Jan.
\u201cRather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1502903667
