Three chief executives from top American companies resigned from a presidential business council on Monday following President Trump’s tepid initial response to a violent weekend in Charlottesville, Va... The executives’ decisions are the business community’s strongest rebuke to date of [this] president... [Merck CEO] Mr. Frazier’s decision was made public through a statement on Merck’s Twitter account early on Monday. "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 C.E.O. of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against extremism."... Mr. Trump lashed out at Mr. Frazier on Twitter less than an hour later. “Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” he wrote... For most of the day, even as Mr. Trump took aim at Mr. Frazier, dozens of other chief executives who have agreed to advise the president remained silent,... a reminder that although big companies are increasingly willing to take public stands on many contentious social issues, they also covet their access to a business-friendly White House... Late on Monday other C.E.O.s [of Intel & Under Armour] followed Mr. Frazier’s lead [by resigning from the council]... Over the course of the day, several top executives made statements denouncing racism and bigotry generally, although few went as far as [the CEO's of Merck, Intel & Under Armour].