The fallout continues after President Donald Trump’s controversial comments following the violent street confrontations that left one person dead and several others injured last weekend in Charlottesville, VA.
The Cleveland Clinic on Thursday became the latest blue-chip health system to distance itself from President Donald Trump.
A terse statement, not attributed to any individual at the health system, read: “After careful consideration, Cleveland Clinic has decided that it will not hold a Florida fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in 2018. We thank the staff of Mar-a-Lago for their service over the years.”
No reason was provided for the decision to drop the fundraiser at the ritzy Trump property, which came days after the president’s controversial remarks about last weekend’s street clashes in Charlottesville, VA.
The confrontation between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators left one woman dead and several others injured.
The president’s remarks were seen in many quarters as deflecting blame away from neo-Nazis and other avowed white supremacist groups.
- Last week the Clinic announced it would not relocate the event, despite having reviewed a public letter urging it to do so. The letter contained more than 1,100 signatures of clinicians and others.
- The American Cancer Society on Thursday also pulled out of a commitment to host an event at Mar-a-Lago in 2018.
- Earlier this year, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute announced that they would move events from Mar-a-Largo to other venues.
- Earlier this week, Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove said he planned to remain on President Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum, even as other CEOs resigned in the wake of Trump’s comments. The White House has since disbanded the forum.
- Key business and political leaders and erstwhile allies appear to be distancing themselves from the president.
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.