Denise Morrison will not walk in the path of her fellow CEOs. The head of Campbell Soup Company has decided to remain on the advisory council that Donald Trump stacked with business leaders at the beginning of his presidency. At the same time, the company was quick to condemn the bigotry that gripped Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend. As of Monday night, Morrison is still a member of the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative.
Morrison stands firm
In a statement distributed to reporters by Campbell Soup Company, the organization explained the rationale behind Morrison remaining on the council.
It makes sense: the company wants to have a voice in the direction of economic growth and the shape of the manufacturing industry as a whole. Some may argue, however, that there is a chance to do so without standing side-by-side with Trump, whose tendency towards bigotry has worked to undermine race relations in the United States.
The rest of the statement touched upon the events in Charlottesville. The company condemned the bigotry and racist ideology seen in Virginia, calling it "reprehensible." The statement also mentioned the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion. The three paragraph statement mentioned Morrison just once; it mentioned Trump zero times, though it did refer to the position of the presidency once as well.
Campbell Soup Company tells me CEO Denise Morrison condemns "reprehensible scenes of bigotry and hatred" but will remain on Trump's council: pic.twitter.com/97v3DfsTJg
— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) August 14, 2017
Latest defections from Trump's Council
Citizens took to Twitter to implore Morrison to abandon the council on Monday after two significant names decided to cut out.
The first to go was Ken Frazier, CEO of Merck and Co. and the only African-American on the council. Trump quickly shot back at Frazier as soon as he announced his decision to leave the council, implying that Frazier was responsible for irresponsible pharmaceutical drug prices.
Later in the day, two more CEOs quit the Council: Under Armour's Kevin Plank and Intel's Brian Krzanich.
These defections come after Trump's weak response to the violence in Charlottesville, in which he claimed that violence on "many sides" caused the death and injuries that unfolded over the weekend. CEOs don't want their companies to be associated with a president who seemed hesitant to condemn white supremacy and neo-Nazi movements until Monday afternoon, two days later than he should've. Morrison may not follow suit, but there will be pressure for her to do so regularly for the rest of Trump's presidency.
