Trump Furious Over Only Black CEO Leaving WH Council Amid Charlottesville Events

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier said in a statement on Monday he will step down from the President's Manufacturing Council because US President Donald Trump did not explicitly condemn the actions of pro-Confederate protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.

Frazier explained that as the CEO of Merck and a matter of personal conscience, he felt it necessary to take a stand against both intolerance and extremism.

"I am resigning from the President's American Manufacturing Council," Frazier said. "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."

In response to Frazier's statement, Trump posted a Twitter message of his own saying, "Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to lower rip-off drug prices!"

On Saturday, Trump condemned the violence in Charlottesville, but said the events showed hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, and did not explicitly condemn "white supremacists" involved in the rally. His statement prompted a storm of criticism from both US politicians and the public.

On Sunday, White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert tried to explain Trump's reaction, saying that the US president did not mention the far-right groups in his statement because he did not want to dignify the movement.