Trump disbands business councils after CEOs quit in protest

U.S. President Donald Trump disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils on Aug. 16 after several chief executives quit in protest over his remarks blaming weekend violence in Virginia on anti-racism activists as well as white nationalists.

A parade of prominent Republicans also rebuked Trump, as well as U.S. ally Britain, leaving him increasingly isolated after his comments on Tuesday about the bloodshed in the college town of Charlottesville further enveloped his seven-month-old presidency in controversy. 

The mayor of Phoenix asked Trump to delay a rally planned for next Tuesday, an appeal the president appeared to reject. 

A memorial service was held on Aug. 16 in Charlottesville for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, who was killed when a car plowed into anti-racism protesters on Saturday. A 20-year-old Ohio man said to have harbored Nazi sympathies has been charged with her murder.

Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, was elected president in November touting his experience in the business world and ability to strike deals. However, some of the Republican president's actions and words have alienated many corporate leaders.

He said he would dissolve the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum after eight executives, including Campbell Soup Co CEO Denise Morrison and 3M Co CEO Inge Thulin, quit the panels. 

Both councils were moving to disband on their own when Trump made his announcement on Twitter.

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

The Strategic and Policy Forum was headed by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a close ally of...