Protest Inc

Corporate America sets a standard worth emulating

In declining to unequivocally condemn the violent neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in one death and many injuries, Donald Trump may have hit a new trough in the already low moral tenor that marks his presidency. Mr Trump was forced to modify his statement, but he swiftly backtracked on Tuesday. Amid the uproar of criticism that erupted from across the political spectrum, it is ironic that a president who campaigned on the promise of reviving manufacturing jobs should have sustained sharp rebukes from three representatives on the American Manufacturing Council. On Monday, Kenneth Frazier, CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co, announced that he was stepping down from the council in protest. In forthright criticism of Mr Trump’s blatant pandering to this crass constituency that forms the core of his support base, Mr Frazier, who is African American, said, “America’s leaders must honour our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the ideal that all people are created equal.” That statement provoked a not unexpected undignified Twitter riposte from Mr Trump but Mr Frazier, it turned out, was not alone. 

Two more CEOs followed Mr Frazier in tendering their resignations. One was Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, and the other was Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour. Their statements were more oblique in criticising Mr Trump but the message was clear. Mr Krzanich said he was resigning because “many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them”. On Twitter, he was more direct: “There should be no hesitation in condemning hate speech or white supremacy by name. #Intel asks all our countries (sic) leadership to do the same”. Mr Plank wrote: “I love our country & company. I am stepping down from the council to focus on inspiring & uniting through power of sport.” It is worth noting that even the manufacturer of Tiki torches, the bamboo torches that the white nationalists carried that night, took the trouble to distance itself from the events at Charlottesville, putting out a statement that it did not support the white supremacists’ message or the use of its products.

Altogether this year, six CEOs have chosen to quit Mr Trump’s various advisory councils in protest against his policies. In February, Travis Kalanick, then still the CEO of Uber, stepped down from the president’s economic advisory council following the executive order imposing a temporary ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries. In June, Bob Iger of Disney and Elon Musk of Tesla quit the president’s business advisory council after he pulled the US out of the Paris climate change agreement. Taken together with many open statements in opposition to the US president’s policies, America Inc, which has rarely been a shining exemplar of ethics and values, has set an honourable precedent. To this can be added the role played by signature corporations — Google, Starbucks and Facebook — in getting the Supreme Court to overturn archaic laws that outlawed same-sex marriage in 2015. Their activism, however mild, offers a contrast to the studied silence of India Inc to the social atrocities that have been polarising the country for over two decades. For a group that seeks to emulate global best practices, this would be a good example to follow as well.