Merck CEO resigns from Trump council over Charlottesville

[webfact]

Merck CEO resigns from Trump council over Charlottesville

By Michael Erman

 

Chairman and CEO of Merck & Co., Kenneth Frazier, takes part in a panel discussion during the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York, September 27, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Files

 

(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc <MRK.N> Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier resigned from U.S. President Donald Trump's American Manufacturing Council on Monday, saying he was taking a stand against intolerance and extremism.

 

Trump denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan as criminals and thugs on Monday, bowing to mounting political pressure after initially saying many sides were to blame after a white-nationalist rally turned deadly in Virginia.

 

Frazier, who is African-American, is the only CEO so far to leave one of Trump's advisory councils because of his reaction to the violence in Virginia, although the AFL-CIO said it was considering pulling its representative on the committee. Prominent Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump's response to the violence over the weekend.

 

The gathering of hundreds of white nationalists took a deadly turn on Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters and killed at least one person.

 

Trump had said "many sides" were involved, drawing fire from across the political spectrum for not specifically denouncing the far right.

 

"America's leaders must honour our fundamental views by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal," Frazier said in a statement announcing his resignation.

(http://bit.ly/2fFnITM)

 

"As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism," he said.

 

Trump responded in a tweet, saying now that "Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"

 

The son of a janitor, Frazier joined Merck as general counsel of one of the drugmaker's subsidiaries in 1992, working his way up to CEO of the company in 2011.

 

He made his name as the company's top lawyer, steering it through daunting litigation over Vioxx, its widely used painkiller that was withdrawn in 2004 after being linked to heart attacks.

 

Many observers thought Merck would eventually have to shell out $10 billion or more to thousands of plaintiffs over the drug's withdrawal. But Frazier's legal strategy led to a $4.85 billion settlement in 2007, allowing Merck to refocus on its pipeline of experimental medicines.

 

Merck shares rose 0.5 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, roughly in line with the wider market.

 

Frazier frequently made political contributions during the 2016 election, donating to both Republican and Democratic members of Congress but making no donations to a presidential candidate during the year.

 

The political PAC maintained by Merck and funded through donations from Merck employees made over $1.1 million in candidate contributions during the 2016 campaign - but did not contribute to Trump or his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, according to documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

 

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents the pharmaceutical industry and lobbies on its behalf in Congress, declined to offer a statement of support for Frazier or to comment on Trump’s reaction.

 

The industry’s silence comes as Trump is finalising an executive order on drug prices that would relax industry regulation and contains measures that, some say, would protect existing drug prices or even increase them.

 

Individually, at least one CEO, John Maraganore of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals <ALNY.O>, tweeted his support, saying he was “proud to stand with leaders like Ken Frazier.”

 

Other top business leaders also spoke out in response to the violence in Charlottesville.

 

"I support Ken Frazier’s decision. I’m thankful we have business leaders such as Ken to remind America of its better angels," said Hewlett Packard Enterprises <HPE.N> CEO Meg Whitman, who ran for governor of California as a Republican in 2010.

 

Goldman Sachs <GS.N> CEO Lloyd Blankfein tweeted: "Lincoln: 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' Isolate those who try to separate us. No equivalence w/ those who bring us together."

 

Richard Trumka, president of the largest federation of U.S. labour unions, the AFL-CIO, questioned the council's effectiveness and said the group was mulling leaving.

 

"The AFL-CIO has unequivocally denounced the actions of bigoted domestic terrorists in Charlottesville and called on the president to do the same," Trumka said in a statement.

 

Several executives from top U.S. companies have previously stepped down from a number of presidential advisory councils in protest to Trump policies.

 

Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> CEO Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> CEO Robert Iger left the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum, a business advisory group, in June, after Trump said he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord. Musk also left the manufacturing council.

 

Former Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] CEO Travis Kalanick quit the business advisory council in February amid pressure from activists and employees who opposed the administration's immigration policies.

 

The White House said Sunday that Trump's remarks condemning violence at a white nationalist rally were meant to include the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups.

 

Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump for waiting too long to address the violence - his first major domestic crisis as president - and for failing when he did speak out to explicitly condemn white-supremacist marchers who ignited the melee.

 

Trump on Saturday initially denounced what he called "this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides."

 

On Sunday, however, the White House added: "The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together."

 

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Additional reporting by Toni Clarke and Ginger Gibson in Washington, Sophia Kunthara in New York and Natalie Grover, Rachit Vats, Parikshit Mishra, Narottam Medhora, Yashaswini Swamynathan and Uday Sampath Kumar in Bangalore; editing by Nick Zieminski)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-15

[darksidedog]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

Trump responded in a tweet, saying now that "Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"

And there it is again, the nasty, mean and vindictive side of him, that just needs to lash out and belittle anyone who has the audacity to disagree with him, to make him look bad. You expect this sort of thing from a petulant 8 year old child and it amazes me that his supporters are unable to accept that this sort of behaviour is not presidential.

[mtls2005]

Classy response from 45, as usual.

 

 

 

 

[Thakkar]

Darren Rovell (‪@darrenrovell‬)

15/8/17, 10:21

 

BREAKING: Under Armour CEO steps down from Trump's American Manufacturing Council pic.twitter.com/8F5pInqoDR

 

[mtls2005]

Steph Curry has been rightly holding Kevin Plank's (UnderArmour CEO) feet to the fire since he joined this "council". I would imagine The Rock was also working on him? Tom Brady, probably not so much?

 

Given the huge endorsement network with individuals, sports, teams (college), really no option but to move away from someone who seems incapable of denouncing racism, and white supremacy.

 

 

Who cares? any real news?

 

Well it was "news" when it was formed? Who's that guy on Trump's left?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by mtls2005

[boomerangutang]

from the OP:....

                           Trump denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan as criminals and thugs on Monday, bowing to mounting political pressure after initially saying many sides were to blame after a white-nationalist rally turned deadly in Virginia.

That's not entirely true.  Trump's first public response, hours after the events had been churning, was a tepid Rodney King 'why can't we all get along' sort of hogwash read from a typed piece of paper.

 

                           The second announcement, mentioned in the quotes, was not signed by or attributed to anyone in the WH.  If it had been a statement by Trump, he would have made it clear.  It's like if a bratty 8 year old gets in trouble at school (for calling little Sally a nigger), but he's too immature to own up to it - so his mommy writes a 'sorry' note to the school teacher the next day.

 

                         Bannon and Gorka must be kicked out onto the sidewalk on Penn Ave.  They're neo-nazis, but Trump loves them.

 

[mtls2005]

Bannon knows where the bodies are buried; he's not going anywhere.

 

Dr. Gorka is Trump's current favorite TV defender so until he murders a hooker he's staying in place too.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by mtls2005

[binjalin]

2 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

 

That's not entirely true.  Trump's first public response, hours after the events had been churning, was a tepid Rodney King 'why can't we all get along' sort of hogwash read from a typed piece of paper.

 

                           The second announcement, mentioned in the quotes, was not signed by or attributed to anyone in the WH.  If it had been a statement by Trump, he would have made it clear.  It's like if a bratty 8 year old gets in trouble at school (for calling little Sally a nigger), but he's too immature to own up to it - so his mommy writes a 'sorry' note to the school teacher the next day.

 

                         Bannon and Gorka must be kicked out onto the sidewalk on Penn Ave.  They're neo-nazis, but Trump loves them.

 

I agree Bannon should have no place at the WH but Trump did condemn violence from all sides and, apart from that appalling death at the hands of a maniac, I saw it on both sides. One side had a permit to gather and the other didn't but I think ignoring the nutters and a news blackout (am I allowed to say that?) a far better strategy.

[Thakkar]

13 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Bannon knows where the bodies are buried; he's not going anywhere.

 

Dr. Gorka is Trump's current favorite TV defender so until he murders a hooker he's staying in place too.

 

 

Only if it's a white hooker!

[mtls2005]

Intel CEO Becomes Third Chief to Quit Trump Council After Riots

 

Intel Corp.’s Brian Krzanich and Under Armour Inc.’s Kevin Plank became the latest chief executives to quit President Donald Trump’s council of U.S. business leaders, as membership on the panel has become enmeshed in the country’s volatile politics after violent riots in Virginia over the weekend.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-14/merck-ceo-quits-trump-council-as-matter-of-personal-conscience

 

 

I'm guessing the Tiki Torch company CEO won't be joining this "council"?

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by mtls2005

[RawboneFunksta]

Some people may not like Trump's tweets but he is certainly revealing an irony in this case.

[NanLaew]

In other news, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett sits out the national anthem.

 

And maybe more will follow.

 

 

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, NanLaew said:

In other news, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett sits out the national anthem.

 

And maybe more will follow.

 

 

So it was news when the council was created but not news that members are leaving in protest? 

[boomerangutang]

It's sick.  Trump goes ballistic, weekly, over things like whether his daughter's shoes & bangles are selling, or about newscaster Mika's blood dripping from her chin from plastic surgery (a vindictive lie, btw), .....but Trump can't say anything bad about Neo-Nazis or Putin.    What's wrong with this picture?

[Rancid]

Well no one could certainly challenge the integrity of a Pharmaceutical CEO.

[Thakkar]

1 minute ago, Rancid said:

Well no one could certainly challenge the integrity of a Pharmaceutical CEO.

If you are suggesting that Big Pharma CEOs are lowlife, I wouldn't disagree. However, the message here is that even lowlife Pharma CEO have more integrity than President Trump.

[ilostmypassword]

15 minutes ago, Rancid said:

Well no one could certainly challenge the integrity of a Pharmaceutical CEO.

If Merck's CEO's integrity is in question, what does that say about Trump's choosing him?

Edited August 15, 2017 by ilostmypassword

[Jonnapat]

Well done Mr Frazier, not the first and for sure not the last to stand up against this racist bully who occupies the White House.

Leader of the free world? I could p--s myself laughing if it were not so serious 

[iReason]

12 minutes ago, TGIR said:

Not cow-towing to CNN and the rest of the liberal press by getting their permission to say "exactly" the right thing

about the bunch of white idiots in North Carolina fighting with each other.  

Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

As mentioned in the second line of the article:

"... a white-nationalist rally turned deadly in Virginia."

 

An uninformed Trumpeteer?

Whatta surprise...

[Jingthing]

3 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

 

That's not entirely true.  Trump's first public response, hours after the events had been churning, was a tepid Rodney King 'why can't we all get along' sort of hogwash read from a typed piece of paper.

 

                           The second announcement, mentioned in the quotes, was not signed by or attributed to anyone in the WH.  If it had been a statement by Trump, he would have made it clear.  It's like if a bratty 8 year old gets in trouble at school (for calling little Sally a nigger), but he's too immature to own up to it - so his mommy writes a 'sorry' note to the school teacher the next day.

 

                         Bannon and Gorka must be kicked out onto the sidewalk on Penn Ave.  They're neo-nazis, but Trump loves them.

 

And Miller. 

[ilostmypassword]

54 minutes ago, TGIR said:

Hey Moderators l-  I thought politics was something we couldn't talk about.   I got "suspended" for twenty four hours after playfully misspelling Obama's name.......yet here are pages and pages every day defaming and belittling the President. 

 

And what's the horrible thing Trump did this week?  Not cow-towing to CNN and the rest of the liberal press by getting their permission to say "exactly" the right thing about the bunch of white idiots in North Carolina fighting with each other.  

 " I thought politics was something we couldn't talk about." Really? This notion of yours casts serious doubts on your thought processes. And the moderators have made it quite clear that misspelling names is forbidden and have often removed posts that misspelled Trump's name. And since you appear to be particularly clueless, it's also forbidden to criticize the moderators on the forum. You can send them a critical PM.

[Thakkar]

1 hour ago, TGIR said:

I thought politics was something we couldn't talk about.

What's the matter—can't win the argument, so appealing to shut down the debate?

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, TGIR said:

Not cow-towing to CNN

 

What is this cow-towing? Has your cow broken down again?

 

Now I am off to kowtow to my CNN altar. Praise be to Jake.

[AgMech Cowboy]

Most of the comments I see here are some of biggest bigot's comments I've ever seen. Trump condemned the white supremacists and I do too. BUT, in the USA there is a law that allows freedom of speech. I disagree with the supreme 'white' message, but they have a right to express themselves just as the BLM and LGBT do.

[binjalin]

17 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

Most of the comments I see here are some of biggest bigot's comments I've ever seen. Trump condemned the white supremacists and I do too. BUT, in the USA there is a law that allows freedom of speech. I disagree with the supreme 'white' message, but they have a right to express themselves just as the BLM and LGBT do.

I agree I hate what they say but they did get a permit to march and demo and the so called 'far left' did not. Both sides caused trouble. Like a Black Professor said on CNN yesterday there were elements on the left side who were itching for a fight and had no permit to march. Ignore them, news blackout, no violence and their stupid argument goes away.

[mtls2005]

Maybe Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli can take his place on the President's Manufacturing Council, assuming he can get on a work-release program and wear an ankle-monitor to meetings in the White House.

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by mtls2005

[Thakkar]

39 minutes ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

Most of the comments I see here are some of biggest bigot's comments I've ever seen. Trump condemned the white supremacists and I do too. BUT, in the USA there is a law that allows freedom of speech. I disagree with the supreme 'white' message, but they have a right to express themselves just as the BLM and LGBT do.

You are confused. 

Nobody's denying the nazis their right to free speech. However they cannot expect to spew their hate without consequence; others have a free speech right to call them out on their bigotry. Hence, the counter protest. Hence the condemnation from all sides, even—albeit belatedly and under duress—from The President. 

[Thakkar]

Ben Wikler (‪@benwikler‬)

15/8/17, 14:39

One thing CEOs on Trump's advisory council should consider: do you really want to be the *last* CEO to quit?

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, binjalin said:

Who cares? any real news?

Industry leaders abandoning Trump's advisory council's within his first six months as President is very telling as to the fitness of Trump to be POTUS.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Industry leaders abandoning Trump's advisory council's within his first six months as President is very telling as to the fitness of Trump to be POTUS.

Yep. Refusing to be used by 45's relentless propaganda show is a strong statement to not be COMPLICIT in his disastrous, divisive, destructive regime. 

Edited August 15, 2017 by Jingthing