Instead of Denouncing White Nationalists, Trump Attacks Merck CEO for Leaving Advisory Panel

Ken Frazier resigned amid the president’s refusal to denounce white supremacy.

President Donald Trump railed against Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier on Twitter Monday morning, shortly after the pharmaceuticals executive announced his decision to leave a White House advisory council in protest over the president’s refusal to directly denounce white nationalists in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

In a statement explaining his exit from the president’s manufacturing council, Frazier, who is African American, said he felt compelled to “take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”

“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 said.

Trump has attracted bipartisan condemnation for failing to name and condemn the white supremacist groups responsible for the “Unite the Right” rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville over the weekend. One person was killed after being struck by a vehicle that rammed into a group of counterprotesters on Saturday. The suspect, James Alex Fields Jr.—who was spotted among white nationalist activists over the weekend—is being arraigned Monday on charges including murder. Separately, two state troopers died in a helicopter crash on Saturday while responding to the violence. 

The president has instead blamed “many sides” for the violence, while repeatedly disregarding multiple reporters’ questions on Saturday over whether he sought to condemn white nationalist groups that have expressed solidarity with Trump’s agenda. 

One group, however, has lavished praise on the president’s equivocal remarks: neo-Nazis themselves. “Really, really good. God bless him,” the white nationalist website the Daily Stormer said on Sunday. 

Since the events in Charlottesville, Ivanka Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have denounced the white supremacist groups. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday morning said the car attack on counterprotesters “met the definition of domestic terrorism in our statute.” 

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate