From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 14, 2017
Top pharma exec quits Trump advisory panel over Charlottesville response
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe CEO of the US’s third largest pharmaceutical company is resigning from the president’s American Manufacturing Council citing “a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”
US President Donald Trump lashed out almost immediately Monday at Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier on Twitter, saying Frazier “will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”
Frazier’s resignation comes shortly after a violent confrontation between white supremacists and protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one person dead and 19 injured.
He says in a tweet that the country’s leaders must “honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy.”
Trump responded to Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville by blaming bigotry on “many sides.” He has not explicitly condemned the white supremacists.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.