Bob Iger will no longer attend a meeting with President Trump at the White House on Friday.
(Photos: Getty Images)
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the CEO of Disney has dropped out of a scheduled policy forum between him, the president and several other CEOs of major U.S. companies because he has “a company board meeting.”
Iger — a known Democrat who donated to Hillary Clinton — has faced backlash ever since December when the administration announced that he was joining Trump’s strategic and policy forum.
(Photo: TOMMASO BODDI/AFP/Getty Images)
Over 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding that he and 18 other CEOs “publicly condemn his ‘Muslim ban’ and stop collaborating with his dangerous administration.”
“There is no neutral,” the petition reads. “Either CEO advisors must speak out against the Trump Administration’s travel ban and step off of his committee, or they are complicit in the violence his administration is creating.”
(Photo: Reuters)
In December, Trump billed the meeting as a chance to “bring together CEOs and business leaders who know what it takes to create jobs and drive economic growth.” Iger issued this statement shortly afterwards.
“We are no longer competitive with the rest of the world in that regard and that must be addressed, and it’s possible that, given what’s gone on this week, that that’s likely to be addressed sooner rather than later, and that’s obviously a good thing,” Iger said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon and General Motors CEO Mary Barra are all still scheduled to attend.