Charlottesville violence: Donald Trump's arts council quits

Washington: Several members of United States President Donald Trump's Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) have announced their resignation due to President's remarks on Charlottesville violence.

A letter signed by 16 of 17 committee members, including Actor Kal Penn, artist Chuck Close, cited the "false equivalence" of President Donald Trump's comments about last weekend's "Unite the Right" gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump has blamed "many sides" for the demonstrations that left an anti-racism activist dead.

"Dear @realDonaldTrump, attached is our letter of resignation from the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities @PCAH_gov," Kal Penn tweeted along with the picture of the letter.

Dear @realDonaldTrump, attached is our letter of resignation from the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities @PCAH_gov pic.twitter.com/eQI2HBTgXs — Kal Penn (@kalpenn) August 18, 2017

As per The Hill report, the first letter of each paragraph in the letter spells out "resist," a reference to liberal efforts to counter Trump's agenda.

"Reproach and censure in the strongest possible terms are necessary following your support of the hate groups and terrorists who killed and injured fellow Americans in Charlottesville," it reads.

"The Administration's refusal to quickly and unequivocally condemn the cancer of hatred only further emboldens those who wish America ill. ... Your words and actions push us all further away from the freedoms we are guaranteed."

"Elevating any group that threatens and discriminates on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, orientation, background, or identity is un-American," the letter states.

"The false equivalencies you push cannot stand," the letter says.

"We cannot sit idly by, the way that your West Wing advisors have, without speaking out against your words and actions."

The letter continues that art is about "inclusion" and a free press and mentions that Trump has "attacked both."

"Speaking truth to power is never easy, Mr. President," the letter reads. "But it is our role as commissioners on the PCAH to do so."

The move comes after at least a dozen CEOs of prominent companies left several of Trump's advisory councils in the past week over his comments on the Charlottesville rally, during which one died and 19 more were injured when a car drove into a group of counter protesters.

Trump has dissolved two of the advisory panels this week as they were falling apart.

Trump received widespread criticism for failing to specifically rebuke white nationalists for violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.