BILLIONAIRE TRUMP ADVISER: CEOs were wrong to abandon the president

Stephen Shugerman / Stringer

Thomas Barrack, a real-estate billionaire and close ally of President Trump, has denounced business leaders who have stopped advising the president.

"To abandon the input of constructive opinions from qualified, nonpolitical, individuals who are fortunate to be called upon by the President for advice is counterproductive to an objective of supplying him with a diverse, realistic and at times contrary pool of expert thought and advice," Barrack said in a statement to Business Insider.  "The objective should be to increase the input of those in whom the President places trust who have varying or differing opinions to his own."

A wave of business leaders stepped down from advising Trump last week in the aftermath of the president's remarks on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, which left one woman dead. Carl Icahn, a billionaire investor, also said he was not longer advising Trump, but cited regulatory concerns.

Barrack, who is the CEO of Colony Capital, is reportedly in talks to become the ambassador to Mexico, meanwhile, according to Politico. A spokesman for Barrack declined to comment on the matter.

You can read Barrack's full statement below:

"The President of the United States, now more than ever, needs to maintain contact with a qualified and diverse group of official and nonofficial advisers and experts on varied and distinct concepts. Business Leaders and CEO’s are an essential silo of that group.  Those advisors, whose opinions the President may value,  at times have opinions and points of view that may vary or be distinct from those of the President.  To abandon the input of constructive opinions from qualified, nonpolitical, individuals who are fortunate to be called upon by the President for advice is counterproductive to an objective of supplying him with a diverse , realistic and at times contrary pool of expert thought and advice.   The objective should be to increase the input of those in whom the President places trust who have varying or differing opinions to his own."

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