August 14, 2017

CONTACT: Yasmina Dardari +1 407-922-8149 yasmina@unbendablemedia.com

Earlier today, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier announced that he will resign from President Trump’s manufacturing council in reaction to Trump’s failure to condemn white supremacist violence in Charlottesville this past weekend. In a statement, Merck CEO Frazier explained: "America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy," adding, "as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."

In response to Frazier’s resignation, Trump tweeted: "Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"

Following Frazier’s decision to leave the council, SumOfUs, a global consumer group, is calling on other CEOs serving on Trump’s business and manufacturing councils to follow suit, and slamming the President for tweeting in retribution. SumOfUs campaign manager Nicole Carty explained:

"We applaud Merk CEO Kenneth Frazier for his refusal to collaborate with a President who gives cover to white supremacist violence and terror. Frazier understands that Trump’s presidency is not business as usual, but represents a dangerous threat to pluralism and democratic values. Frazier joins the ranks of business leaders like Elon Musk and Bob Iger who took a stand by refusing to advise Trump and legitimize his destructive agenda.

"To the CEOs who have remained on Trump’s advisory councils, even after he’s shown his true colors time and again as a racist, sexist warmonger who refuses to unequivocally condemn neo-nazis: Your complicity is noted. We urge Trump’s remaining corporate advisors—including Ford’s Mark Fields , GE’s Jeff Immelt, JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, IBM’s Ginni Rometty, Walmart's Doug McMillon, and Pepsi’s Indra Nooyi —to follow Frazier’s example and end their collaboration with Trump’s agenda of hate.

"We are disgusted, but not surprised by Trump’s threat of retribution after Frazier—one of America’s best-known black executives—announced his resignation. We have always known that the President was a bully. What is shocking is the silence from America’s corporate leaders who support Trump’s demagoguery by continuing to advise him. If refusing to condemn white supremacist terror will not move them to sever ties with Trump, what will?

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/14/investing/merck-ceo-trump-charlottesville/index.html

Over 187,000 people have signed a SumOfUs petition urging President Trump’s corporate advisors to end their collaboration with his administration, citing Trump’s Muslim travel ban.

VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/google-and-facebook-don-t-collaborate-with-hate