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| Three CEOs walk away from Trump after Charlottesville |
| 2017-08-16 |
| [CNN] One of the country's most powerful labor union leaders became the latest person to walk away from President Trump over his remarks about white supremacists. Richard Trumka, leader of the AFL-CIO, issued a statement on Tuesday saying "I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism." He said he was stepping down from Trump's manufacturing council "effective immediately." His resignation came shortly after Trump told reporters on Tuesday that "both sides" were responsible for violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In addition to Trumka, Thea Lea, an economist and former deputy chief of staff at the AFL-CIO, also resigned from the council. Four corporate executives had already walked away from Trump's manufacturing council following the president's reaction to the protests in Charlottesville. Scott Paul, head of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, quit Trump's manufacturing council earlier on Tuesday. He said on Twitter it was "the right thing for me to do." He joined the CEOs of Merck, Under Armour and Intel, who all left the council Monday. The group, which Trump established in January with about two dozen members, is supposed to meet occasionally to offer the president advice on job growth. Trump said on Twitter that he has other CEOs ready to step in and that "grandstanders" should not have joined the manufacturing council in the first place. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #20 The Manufacturing Council wanted them to curb their carpetbagger practices. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-08-16 20:41 |
| #19 Yes. |
| Posted by: Creang Stalin6662 2017-08-16 18:20 |
| #18 Jobs and economic indicators are good from what I heard. These guys may not have been needed anylonger. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-08-16 18:19 |
| #17 both the manufacturing and the strategy/policy council have, as I understand it, been abolished good riddance - these councils are about 40% window dressing and about 50% a forum for cronyism - the other 10% help the executive branch recruit appointees in the Commerce, Treasury, etc. Departments |
| Posted by: lord garth 2017-08-16 17:19 |
| #16 That there was such a council in the first place only indicates that the government has too much power and / or are oblivious to business in general. Cut taxes & regulations and get the hell out of the way - it's that simple. |
| Posted by: Raj 2017-08-16 17:04 |
| #15 Waving the Nazi flag means that you are supporting the world's most deadly terrorist organization. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2017-08-16 16:43 |
| #14 And AFL-CIO? Really? |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-08-16 12:24 |
| #13 They only signed on to make headlines when they eventually walked away (and be able to claim they gave him a fair shot, etc). |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-08-16 12:24 |
| #12 They're lucky Obama isn't in power. They would be facing IRS audits and Regulatory backlash |
| Posted by: Frank G on the Road 2017-08-16 11:16 |
| #11 "I am going to push my views and agenda by quitting a council created explicitly to listen to my views and agenda." Both virtue signaling and professional negligence. So ya, go take a knee, plenty of younger, faster, stronger players to play that position. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2017-08-16 11:10 |
| #10 #4 has it |
| Posted by: Frank G on the Road 2017-08-16 11:04 |
| #9 To all those so called CEOs and leaders that resigned and walked away from Trump's manufacturing council. What would you have done instead? Instead you gave me the impression of toddlers having temper tantrums! |
| Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance 2017-08-16 10:46 |
| #8 AFL-CIO? Go ahead and walk. You've done more to kill American jobs than just about anyone else. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-08-16 10:29 |
| #7 Burning the flag, panhandling and nude dancing have been declared free speech by the Supreme Court in past rulings. This looks like an act that can be construed as free speech also. A well crafted case needs to be sent to the court asking what speech is not to be considered 1st amendment protected. Like many 2nd amendment cases, the court will sidestep. Then Congress should pass a law that says, when the court sidesteps, it's a free fire zone. Of course, the court will strike that down and the cycle of insipid spinelessness can begin again. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2017-08-16 10:06 |
| #6 Losing the support of Richard Trumka, something akin to the sudden disappearance of lawn moles. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-08-16 09:25 |
| #5 If Trump said nothing they would criticize him for not speaking out. If he spoke out, it wouldn't be good enough or it was too late. Or they would say he didn't condemn enough. Trump was right, there were two opposing groups with violent-prone people within both groups. You have a mayor and a governor who did little to prevent this situation. There's plenty of blame to go around. There was little criticism of the left when Occupy Wallstreet, BLM and AntiFa were out in the streets destroying property, beating up people and killing cops. The neo-Nazi are a recent addition to the mix. They are few in number and a sad reminder of another time. Their numbers are made up of malcontents, misfits and mental problems. If you look at the background of 20-year old James Alex Fields or Dylan Roof, the Charleston church shooter, they fit in one or more of these categories. Fields and Roof are the types of people who the MSM hope they will find at the root of violence perpetrated during the orchestrated chaos; right wing, white male screwed up extremists. James T. Hodgkinson, the Republican ballgame shooter fits the description except he was a left-wing nut. The left-wing press was not so interested when they discovered he was one of them. No one blamed Bernie Sanders because Hodgkinson was a supporter. If people had not been killed at Charlottesville, today's neo-Nazis would be a joke (the same with the KKK). |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2017-08-16 08:44 |
| #4 Virtue Signaling |
| Posted by: N guard 2017-08-16 07:01 |
| #3 They pay lobbyists millions, but walk away from far better free access. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2017-08-16 02:50 |
| #2 Richard Trumka is a domestic terrorist himself. He should never have been allowed to be there in the first place. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2017-08-16 00:35 |
| #1 These people feed off the taxpayer through the government. June 15, 2017 Awards to Intel. I think it is time to spread the wealth to others. |
| Posted by: Spike Spomoter7482 2017-08-16 00:29 |