Business and tech mogul Elon Musk says that he’ll step away from the President’s advisory council if Donald Trump decides to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord. Trump has yet to formally announce if he’ll withdraw or not, but the expectation is that he will. Press secretary Sean Spicer remained mum about the decision:
“I obviously don’t know whether he’s made it… When the President has a decision he will make that announcement and he will make it clear what the basis of that is.”
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX made it abundantly clear on Twitter Wednesday that he’s done everything possible to encourage Trump to keep the United States in the treaty:
Don't know which way Paris will go, but I've done all I can to advise directly to POTUS, through others in WH & via councils, that we remain
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2017
Asked via Twitter what he’ll do if Trump decides to leave, Musk responded that he would “have no choice but to depart [the] councils in that case.”
Will have no choice but to depart councils in that case
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2017
Musk is one of 18 business leaders who serve on Trump’s business advisory council, officially known as the Strategic and Policy Forum. He has also spent time at the White House with the president discussing manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and the need to spend money on the country’s infrastructure.
Musk is far from the only member of the business community to ask Trump not to withdraw. Despite Trump’s efforts to make it look like the corporate world is on his side, he has had a rocky relationship with many business leaders so far over the travel ban and now climate change. And they’re not afraid to express their distaste when they disagree with the president. Uber’s CEO quit the advisory council over the travel ban, and now one of the richest and most powerful men in the world threatens to leave as well.
So add that name to a long list of important individuals like Rex Tillerson, Trump’s own Secretary of State. Once again, President Snowflake only does what he wants, regardless of the consequences.
Featured image from Twitter.
