(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc 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.
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. Prominent Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump's response to the violence over the weekend.
A gathering of hundreds of white nationalists in Virginia 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.
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"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.
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As it stands, Johnson & Johnson's Axel Gorsky is the remaining senior pharma figure on the Manufacturing Council, and as of this morning had not revealed whether or not he will remain on board.
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Merck CEO resigns from Trump post in Charlottesville protest
Frazier was among the pharma executives who met with the president shortly after he was sworn in.
At that meeting, the president told those attending that drugmakers needed to lower prices, deliver "better" innovation and "move your companies back" to the U.S. (Más)
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