Intel CEO Leaves Trump’s Manufacturing Council After President Dithers on Condemning White Supremacists

Brian Krzanich and three other CEOs are ducking out after Trump's response to white supremacy in Charlottesville, Va.

Donald J. Trump (Gage Skidmore)

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich resigned on Monday from Donald Trump's American Manufacturing Council, one of at least four executives to leave their advisory posts, following Trump's reaction to the Charlottesville, Va., protests.

Trump's reluctance to condemn white-nationalist violence in Charlottesville has resulted in widespread criticism.

Krzanich explained his reasons in a blog post on the Intel website:

"I resigned to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues, including the serious need to address the decline of American manufacturing," he wrote. "Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America's manufacturing base."

Intel is Oregon's largest private employer, providing jobs for almost 19,300 Oregonians. It's also Washington County's largest property taxpayer.

Fellow business executives who've left the board since this weekend include  Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier (who was first to step down), Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing Scott Paul.

Tuesday morning, Trump responded to the recent upheavals with this tweet:

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart also spoke out Tuesday  but will not be resigning from his own position on a presidential council on economic development.

Later in the day, the president lashed out at reporters who asked him about his reluctance to condemn white supremacists. He equated the neo-Nazi marchers with antifascist counterprotesters, saying "both sides" were violent—a remarkable account, given that only one side plowed into a crowd with a car.

Full post from Intel blog:

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