'I sometimes wonder how they face their children': Larry Summers rails against CEOs on Trump's business councils

In an op-ed for the Financial Times, Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary and Harvard economics professor, went after the business executives remaining on President Donald Trump's various business councils.

Summers, a long-time critic of Trump, wrote that Trump's initial failure to denounce white nationalists in the wake of the weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, proved the members of the various business advisory councils were having little impact on the president.

"No advisor committed to the bipartisan American traditions of government can possibly believe he or she is being effective at this point," Summers wrote. "And all should feel ashamed for complicity in Mr Trump's words and deeds. I sometimes wonder how they face their children."

The op-ed also praised Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of Merck, for resigning from Trump's manufacturing council, on Monday, following Trump's response to Charlottesville.

"I have since inauguration day been troubled by the abdication of moral responsibility on the part of business figures who have lent their reputations to Donald Trump," Summers wrote. "So congratulations to Merck chief executive Ken Frazier on his resignation from the American Manufacturing Council over the president's manifestly inadequate response to Charlottesville."

After Frazier's resignation on Monday, Trump attacked the pharma CEO on Twitter, saying, "Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council,he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"

A few hours after the tweets criticizing Frazier, Trump finally denounced white supremacist groups by name.

Summers also praised Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank for leaving the manufacturing council later Monday. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich had not left the council at the time of Summers' publication.

Summers thinks that by remaining on the councils, business executives are allowing Trump to gain legitimacy by using their reputations. The economist argued that the business leaders could still call the White House on specific topics and influence policy, but without giving Trump the added value of their association via the councils.

"Every member of Mr Trump's advisory councils should wrestle with his or her conscience and ponder Edmund Burke's famous warning that 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'," Summers concluded.

You can read the full op-ed at the Financial Times»