Trump jettisons business councils after CEOs quit in protest

I guess Duke and Spencer gratitude here is not helping.

DT's canoe is now sinking in his own swamp.

Both of the councils were moving to disband on their own when Trump made his announcement on Twitter

Typical Trump. Just can't admit a mistake or defeat.

Trump, alienating all but his true believing base. But then this was expected by most who'd followed his career prior to the election. Did people really think a spoiled class narcissist with a history of bankruptcies and dirty business tactics was going to change his spots and become 'presidented'?

What percent of the 35% who still see him as a political messiah (which don't exist and never have) are still following him primarily because of his gun rights position?

How's the cabal busting going? If the best defenders have is the usual whaddabout, that says a lot about their ability to defend him and his lack of coherent policies, especially policies that support the non-.01%-ers.

Who knew a guy who retweeted white supremacists and had to settle in a discrimination lawsuit could have such forgiving views about the KKK?

I mean, this whole thing just came out of nowhere.

Just another chance for CEOs of companies to virtue signal. They have seen the boycotts and protests by the crazed activists groups and want no part of it.

As someone said on TV though, CEOs can have personal feelings about social issues on their own time. They have a fiduciary responsibility to their stock holders to do what is best for the stock price, and staying on the President's council was probably a positive in that regard. At the end of the day, they will need to produce results or else. They are lucky that the stock market under President Trump is up significantly and because the council was disbanded they can avoid individual blame for quitting.

Ok then, the 5 people who downvoted me can go invest in a company that then loses 30% of their stock price because their CEO wants to play the virtue signaling game rather than work with the President to generate business and make money. I personally wont be investing in any of those companies or purchasing their products.

@Blacklabel

Where are you getting the 30% from?

Isn't there a case to be made that people will hold these companies in higher regard after distancing themselves from the appalling and sinister trash coming out of the White House? Do you think the CEO's of these companies listened to their PR staff?

I just made up 30% as an example of what can happen to any company that puts virtue signalling ahead of actually turning a profit.

http://www.barrons.com/articles/under-armour-falls-amid-sporting-goods-price-war-1502822200

So Under Armour stock went down 5% in one day because....wait for it.....their CEO left Trump's council the day before! Oh wait never mind, its actually that a price war is making it harder to make money in sports apparel. Thats all it is, the price war that started yesterday. Totally unrelated to their CEO virtue signalling the day before.

that people will hold these companies in higher regard after distancing themselves from the appalling and sinister trash coming out of the White House

Doubtful, thats the old world we lived in. Now people just want financial results, they dont look to CEOs of a sporting apparel company or a company that makes Post Its and tape to set their moral compass. From a business perspective, publicly virtue signalling against the President makes shareholders nervous, so you see the drop in stock price.

Ok, so the CEO did something that was against the best interest of his own stockholders in order to appear as a 'good person'.

I am quite sure the shareholders did not appreciate that, especially considering that 5% drop in one day now makes the stock down 30% this year. It is not the job of the CEO to ensure he is looked at favorably socially, he is supposed to make money. Its interesting as well because the Under Armour CEO is actually somewhat of a Trump supporter but has to walk a fine line because the athletes he sponsors are as anti-Trump as is possible.

I am quite sure the shareholders did not appreciate that, especially considering that 5% drop in one day now makes the stock down 30% this year

I've been a UA shareholder for years, so let me chime in.

UA stock has done well as an investment over the past decade, but has struggled over the past year or so.

A 5% dip in a stock doesn't mean much unless you're a day trader. If you're bullish, it could even be a good time to buy.

It also doesn't mean quitting the president's council is a bad idea and here's why:

Consumers: Being seen as supportive of Trump and his outbursts may turn customers off from the brand and hurt sales.

Investors: Quite a few investors, myself included, make investing decisions inline with our personal beliefs. Fewer people willing to invest means the price doesn't go up-bad for investors.

Branding: As you've mentioned Trump is quite unpopular, especially with athletes. Continuing to break bread with the Donald following his most recent outburst probably won't win them any friends. It'll make it harder to find athletes to model their goods.

I really see no reason for anyone to assums they were not looking out for investors.

Blacklabel: From a business perspective, publicly virtue signalling against the President makes shareholders nervous, so you see the drop in stock price.

How much did the share prices fall for the other companies who have left Trump's various councils?

Don't know and can't be bothered to research it. Was only concerned with Under Armour. It's down 30% this year, no way to spin that.

Don't know and can't be bothered to research it. Was only concerned with Under Armour. It's down 30% this year, no way to spin that.

And that has nothing to do with Trump or the council.

For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2017

What happened to that?

Never thought there'd come a day when rich CEOs --the paragon symbol of capitalistic greed-- would be attributed the better moral conscience than an US President

So the stock dropping 5% on the day after the CEO leaves Trump's council had nothing to do with Trump or the council?

guess it's just a coincidence then.

So the stock dropping 5% on the day after the CEO leaves Trump's council had nothing to do with Trump or the council?

Are we talking about the 5% or the 30%? Conflating the two is a mistake. The whole market was day 1.5% on the day they left the market. Its been a bad year in general for clothing companies, athletic leisure in particular.

Investors react irrationally all the time. A decline over the course of a day doesn't mean it was a mistake or they weren't looking out for investors.

The Strategic and Policy Forum was intended to advise Trump on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation and productivity.

The manufacturing council was designed to promote U.S. job growth.

Various CEOs were asked to promote U.S. job growth and to increase job creation and productivity. Eight of the 27 CEOs chose to turn their backs on the U.S. worker. I wonder if it had occurred to these CEOs that they could wield more power/influence AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER of these councils?

Various CEOs were asked to promote U.S. job growth and to increase job creation and productivity

Employment figures continue to increase.

Eight of the 27 CEOs chose to turn their backs on the U.S. worker

Anything to back that up? Seems to me they just turned on the pres.

 I wonder if it had occurred to these CEOs that they could wield more power/influence AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER of these councils

I'm sure it didn't. CEOs aren't known for being smart, are they? ;)