Most Americans Want CEOs to Take on Trump

A majority of Americans want CEOs to speak out against President Trump's policies and views, according to a poll of 1,000 people conducted by Edelman last week in the wake of his controversial remarks about the Charlottesville violence and the ensuring resignations of blue-chip CEOs from the White House's manufacturing council.

Fifty-two percent of respondents want CEOs to take issue with the President, while 25 percent prefer corporate chiefs stay out of politics.

Richard Edelman

Nearly four-in-ten (38 percent) say their trust in a company would drop if the CEO continues to work with the Trump Administration, while 25 percent say their trust would increase.

The poll found sharp differences among respondents along racial lines, More than half (53 percent) of African-Americans and 46 percent of Hispanics says their trust would decrease if a company continues to work with Trump.

Those figures compare to the 35 percent of whites who would be less trusting in a corporate ally of the White House.

Richard Edelman, CEO of the No. 1 independent firm, commented on the poll in his blog of Aug. 18.

Though CEOs must engage the White House and regulators in areas such as immigration, trade, environment, taxes, privacy and security, they must also be "visible advocates for tolerance and other social issues that affect their employees and communities," wrote Edelman.