The CEO of Kenilworth-based Merck quit a White House advisory council in protest over how President Donald Trump reacted to the violence this weekend in Charlottesville.
TRENTON -- While the CEO of New Jersey pharmaceutical giant Merck quit a White House business advisory board Monday in protest over President Donald Trump's reaction to the deadly white nationalist rally in Virginia, at least one other leader of a Garden State company is remaining on the panel.
Denise Morrison, the chief executive of the Camden-based Campbell Soup Company, won't step down from the American Manufacturing Council, the company said in a statement Monday.
"The reprehensible scenes of bigotry and hatred on display in Charlottesville over the weekend have no place in our society," the company said, adding that Campbell has "long held the belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to the success of our business and our culture."
But, the company added, "we believe it continues to be important for Campbell to have a voice and provide input on matters that will affect our industry, our company and our employees in support of growth."
Trump attacks Merck after CEO quits president's board in protest
There are two other CEOs of New Jersey companies on the board: Alex Gorsky of New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson and Michael Polk of Hoboken-based Newell Brands.
Neither company immediately returned messages from NJ Advance Media seeking comment Monday.
Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of Kenilworth-based pharmaceutical company Merck, announced early Monday he was stepping down from the council.
Trump was heavily criticized for comments he made Saturday in the wake of the Charlottesville demonstrations, which left three people dead and 19 injured.
In a news conference, Trump said: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides."
But critics railed against him for not specifically calling out the white supremacists who organized the rally.
Frazier, who is black, made his announcement via Twitter on Monday morning, saying "America's leaders must honor 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."
-- Merck (@Merck) August 14, 2017
Trump responded by criticizing Frazier and Merck in a tweet of his own:
Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council,he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!
-- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2017
Trump addressed Charlottesville in another news conference Monday afternoon, in which he finally singled out white supremacists.
"Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," Trump said.
The manufacturing council is made up of 25 executives of major private companies and gives advice to the president and the U.S. secretary of commerce.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.