Charlottesville violence: Amid stream of resignations, Trump disbands Manufacturing Council

Washington D.C. [U.S.A.], August 17 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump has announced to end White House's American Manufacturing Council along with the Strategy and Policy Forum, after several business leaders resigned from the Council.

"Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both," Trump Tweeted.

Eight members of the Manufacturing Council have resigned following Trump's response to the racially-charged violence at a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

However, after three CEOs -- Merck & Co.'s Kenneth Frazier, Under Armour Inc.'s Kevin Plank and Intel Corp.'s Brian Krzanich resigned on Monday, Trump had said that he has other CEOs ready to take their place that "grandstanders" should not have joined the manufacturing council in the first place.

While Trump on Monday condemned white supremacists, he returned to his initial position at a press conference Tuesday, saying there was "blame on both sides" for the violence.

Earlier, first one to leave the council, CEO Merck & Co.'s Kenneth Frazier, had cited Trump's passive and delayed response in denouncing the hate groups responsible for the Virginia violence as the basis of his resignation.

"I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism," Frazier said.

Trump received widespread criticism for failing to specifically rebuke white nationalists for violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. (ANI)

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