
President Trump has abruptly disbanded his manufacturing council after several business and labor leaders decided to abort their ties to a president who has publicly defended white nationalist protesters. This morning, more leaders—including two AFL-CIO officials, Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison, and Inge Thulin of 3M—had decided to leave his manufacturing jobs initiative council before Trump's announcement.
Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2017
Here's a reminder that some CEOs had decided to stay, including Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg.
I reached out to a Boeing spokesperson yesterday to ask if Muilenburg could explain his reason to stay close to Trump after the president's tacit support of white nationalists. I also asked the CEO for comment on Trump's disastrous response to the violence in Charlottesville that left one woman dead and 19 injured over the weekend.
"Dennis Muilenburg plans to remain on the manufacturing council," was the only response.
In February, Muilenburg hosted Trump at his South Carolina Boeing plant, where the president declared, "God bless Boeing."
Since Washington State gave Boeing $8.7 billion in a 2013 tax break deal, the company has cut more than 11,000 jobs in the state.