Pharmaceutical CEO resigns from Trump advisory council over President's failure to condemn racism

'America's leaders must honour our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy,' Kenneth Frazier says

President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with manufacturing executives including Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, centre (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The CEO of a major American pharmaceutical company has resigned from Donald Trump's manufacturing council in response to the Presidents' failure to address "hatred, bigotry and group supremacy" stemming from a white supremacist rally.

Kenneth Frazier, chairman and CEO of Merck & Co, announced his resignation in a statement on Twitter, saying: "America's leaders must honour our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal."

The President quickly shot back, sarcastically tweeting that the pharmaceutical company leader would now have "more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"

Mr Frazier, who is black, previously served on Mr Trump's American Manufacturing Council, alongside prominent CEOs like Tesla's Elon Musk and Ford's Mark Fields.

His resignation comes days after a white supremacist rally in Virginia resulted in the deaths of three people, and the injury of dozens more. Mr Trump, addressing the situation on Sunday, decried the "hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides".

The comments sparked outcry from those who believed the President should explicitly denounce white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.

The White House attempted to clear up these comments later, saying in an unattributed statement that Mr Trump's condemnation of bigotry and violence "includes white supremacists, KKK, Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups". Mr Trump has yet to explicitly condemn any white supremacist groups himself.

Mr Frazier did not mention Mr Trump specifically in his statement, in which he spoke broadly of "American leaders". He said his resignation was a matter of "personal conscience," adding that he felt "a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism".

"Our country's strength stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs," he said.

Mr Trump created the manufacturing council in January, as part of his pledge to create jobs and cut regulations. Restoring the American manufacturing industry was a key tenet of Mr Trump's campaign, and a theme of the White House's recent "Made in America" week.

Mr Frazier is the latest high-profile CEO to step down from one of the President's councils. Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger and Mr Musk both stepped down from the Strategic and Policy Forum in June, after Mr Trump announced he would withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement.

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down from the council in February, amid outcry over the administration's immigration policies.