Trump upended the norms of American political discourse on Tuesday when, in a ferocious back-and-forth with reporters, he declared there had been "very fine people, on both sides" at a clash between anti-fascists and white supremacists.
A violent fracas broke out in the Virginia college town of Charlottesville Saturday at a rally attended by members of organised neo-Nazi and so-called "Alt-Right" groups protesting the removal of a Confederate statue, and one counter-protester was killed when a suspected Nazi sympathiser drove a car into a crowd.
Trump's initial response was seen as mealy-mouthed by those demanding a full-throated condemnation of racism and violence, but his further remarks on Tuesday — when he doubled down on his claim that there had been "blame on both sides" — set off a political firestorm that may come to be seen as a turning point in his presidency.
Almost immediately, senior business executives began dropping out of White House economic advisory councils.
Trump tried to save face on Wednesday by abolishing two of the bodies, but not before it had become clear that America's captains of industry could no longer risk the damage to their brands and reputation.
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase said the members of Trump's now defunct Strategic and Policy Forum had "agreed to disband."
"I strongly disagree with President Trump's reaction to the events that took place in Charlottesville over the past several days. Racism, intolerance and violence are always wrong," he wrote.
The chorus of criticism from the political left was as loud as it was predictable — but few in the Republican camp were willing to speak up publicly to defend the president.
Two of his predecessors — George Bush and his son George W. Bush — issued a statement urging Americans to "reject racial bigotry... in all its forms."
Trump's critics included some of the most respected figures in public life, the background of his most vocal supporters did not do him any favours — he was hailed by David Duke, a former KKK leader and avowed racist and anti-Semite, for his "courage" in standing up for the white nationalist protesters.
On Trump's favoured news network, Fox, an anchor complained that he had struggled to find Republicans to come on a show to defend the president and many observers concluded that the unscripted Trump of Tuesday was the more authentic version of the man who delivered a more measured statement from the White House on Monday in which he denounced "racist violence."
Senator Lindsey Graham said many Republicans would "fight back against the idea that the party of Lincoln has a welcome mat out for the David Dukes of the world."
"He has to fix this and Republicans have to speak out. Plain and simple," Ohio governor John Kasich, who fought and lost to Trump in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination last year, told NBC's "Today" show.
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