Under Armour founder Kevin Plank resigns from American Manufacturing Council
Under Armour founder and chief executive officer Kevin Plank announced Monday night that he is stepping down from President Donald Trump's American Manufacturing Council.
Plank said in a statement:
"I joined the American Manufacturing Council because I believed it was important for Under Armour to have an active seat at the table and represent our industry. We remain resolute in our potential and ability to improve American manufacturing. However, Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics.
I am appreciative of the opportunity to have served, but have decided to step down from the council. I love our country and our company and will continue to focus my efforts on inspiring every person that they can do anything through the power of sport which promotes unity, diversity and inclusion."
Plank's resignation from the American Manufacturing Council comes after Merck chairman and chief executive officer Kenneth Frazier also announced on Monday that he was resigning from the council after President Donald Trump's response to the white supremacist rally and subsequent violence involving counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
Frazier said in a statement:
"I am resigning from the President's American Manufacturing Council.
"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.
"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.
"As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."
Following Frazier's resignation, Trump tweeted that he will "have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich also announced Monday night he is resigning from the manufacturing council "because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them." In a statement on Intel's website, Krzanich said:
Earlier today, I tendered my resignation from the American Manufacturing Council. I resigned to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues, including the serious need to address the decline of American manufacturing. Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America's manufacturing base.
I have already made clear my abhorrence at the recent hate-spawned violence in Charlottesville, and earlier today I called on all leaders to condemn the white supremacists and their ilk who marched and committed violence. I resigned because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them. We should honor - not attack - those who have stood up for equality and other cherished American values. I hope this will change, and I remain willing to serve when it does.
I am not a politician. I am an engineer who has spent most of his career working in factories that manufacture the world's most advanced devices. Yet, it is clear even to me that nearly every issue is now politicized to the point where significant progress is impossible. Promoting American manufacturing should not be a political issue.
My request--my plea--to everyone involved in our political system is this: set scoring political points aside and focus on what is best for the nation as a whole. The current environment must change, or else our nation will become a shadow of what it once was and what it still can and should be.
Plank, Frazier and Krzanich are not the only ones who have resigned from a federal advisory council this year.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk resigned from the manufacturing council in June, and two other advisory groups to the president, after the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Bob Iger resigned for the same reason from the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, which Trump established to advise him on how government policy impacts economic growth and job creation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.