Jeff Immelt Says He Quit Manufacturing Council Before Trump Shut It Down

Photo via AP

GE CEO Jeff Immelt joined business leaders who walked out on President Trump’s manufacturing council, just before Trump tweeted his decision to discontinue it on Wednesday, according to the Boston Globe.

“The president’s statements yesterday were deeply troubling,” Immelt said in response to the president’s response to white supremacists and neo-Nazis gathering in Charlottesville. “GE has no tolerance for hate, bigotry, racism, and the white supremacist extremism that the country witnessed in Charlottesville last weekend,” Immelt said.

Immelt did not immediately quit the council despite fellow businessmen announcing their departure as early as Monday because of President Trump’s statement that “many sides” were to blame for the violence that left an anti-racism protester dead. The Globe reported that Immelt initially hoped to be involved in economic policy that would benefit GE by staying on.

However, CNN reported that eight members including Immelt ultimately left the manufacturing council before Trump decided to disband it, starting with Merck CEO Ken Frazier. Trump had hoped to create manufacturing jobs with the help of the now-defunct council and Strategic and Policy Forum.