Campbell Soup CEO resigns from Trump council just before he disbands it
Trump disbanded business councils after his remarks on national TV created an uproar,
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Campbell Soup Co. CEO Denise Morrison resigned from President Trump's manufacturing jobs council Wednesday, a day after the company issued a statement saying she would not step down and shortly before Trump disbanded the group in the face of growing defections.
In her turnaround, Morrison said in a statement: "Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and are not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville. I believe the president should have been — and still needs to be — unambiguous on that point."
"Following yesterday's remarks from the president, I can not remain on the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative. I will continue to support all efforts to spur economic growth and advocate for the values that have always made America great."
The resignation, however, had little significance as Trump disbanded the council within an hour of Morrison's announcement.
Morrison was the seventh person to resign from two major advisory panels this week following Trump's comments.
"Rather than putting pressure on the business people of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!" the president Tweeted early Wednesday afternoon.
Campbell Soup came under heavy public pressure to quit the group soon after as Merck CEO and chairman Kenneth Frazier, resigned from the panel Monday and was followed by two more chief executives.
On Tuesday, Campbell issued a statement saying Morrison would stay on the panel.
"We believe it continues to be important for Campbell to have a voice and provide input on matters that will affect our industry, our company and our employees in support of growth. Therefore, Ms. Morrison will remain on the President's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative," the statement said.
In remarks made on national television on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on earlier remarks that white supremacists and counter-protesters were both to blame for violence that erupted over weekend in Charlottesville.