President Donald Trump went on the offensive Monday morning by attacking Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier after he resigned from the president’s manufacturing council in protest to Trump’s response to white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Frazier—the only Black CEO of a major pharmaceutical company—announced his resignation in a tweet from Merck’s official Twitter account.
“Our country’s strength stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs,” Frazier said in the statement. “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal.”
Frazier continued: “As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”
Shortly after Merck posted the statement, Trump lashed out against Frazier.
“Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” Trump tweeted.
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
Many critics are pointing out that Trump’s response to Frazier’s departure from the council was more forceful than his claim that “many sides” were responsible for the violence that stemmed from a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville over the weekend.
Merck CEO Ken Frazier has officially earned more vigorous denunciation from Donald Trump than neo-Nazis. Happy 2017. https://t.co/YPhuWg2qPt
— Nope. (@JoyAnnReid) August 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/PalmerReport/status/897086710311505920
https://twitter.com/jh_swanson/status/897083703658250240
Trump’s “many sides” response to the Charlottesville violence has been criticized by lawmakers and several groups for not denouncing the hate groups strongly enough.
