“You Can’t Quit, You’re Fired!”: Trump Disbands Business Councils As Most CEOs Leave in Protest

It may have taken two days for Trump to put together a direct condemnation of white supremacists in light of the Charlottesville rally so he could “know all the facts,” but it doesn’t appear the additional time helped him say anything of value. In light of his ignorant comments, CEOs immediately started leaving two high-profile business advisory councils in protest.

For example, Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich claimed, “I resigned from the council to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues … ” and Kenneth Fraizer, the chief executive of drugmaker Merck, said, “America’s leaders must honor 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. As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”

Despite all this, Trump was initially unworried because there are just so many CEOs that he could use to fill those spots.

For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2017

As with most things Trump says, this turned out to be apparently false. As more and more CEOs resigned, Trump decided to just give up and disband the councils, as Reuters reports.

Naturally, Trump tried to brush it off as him just being a helpful guy to all his busy friends.

Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2017

This is a classic case of firing a guy as he tries to quit. It’s a dubious moral victory.