That response may not satisfy everyone. Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, wrote on Twitter that he could understand that Mr. Mnuchin might make a different decision than he would in deciding to stay on in the administration. But he then took direct aim at Mr. Mnuchin, writing: “@stevenmnuchin1 invests his credibility in defending @realDonaldTrump. Will he have credibility when financial crisis requires it?”

Mr. Summers followed up by adding: “Presidents are poorly served by sycophant advisers who reflexively flatter & defend them. I’m disappointed in @stevenmnuchinstatement.”

But here’s the practical question: Say what you will about Mr. Mnuchin, but he at least has a legitimate résumé of real experience. Given the chaos and infighting that has plagued this White House, do you think that there is a lengthy list of talented individuals with professional experience lining up for his job?

Unlike the business “councils,” the roles in the administration that people like Mr. Mnuchin and Mr. Cohn inhabit are more meaningful, even when they are not successful in swaying the president.

In some ways, it was easy for the C.E.O.s to abandon the president — especially given the safety in numbers — because so many of them privately say they felt like props that enabled Mr. Trump to look like a businessman to voters who have no idea he was never one of them. On the flip side, Mr. Trump was a prop in the business leaders’ plan to promote changes to regulatory rules and tax laws, and thus make their businesses more profitable.

For all the credit that the C.E.O.s were given for their “courage” in leaving the council, let’s be honest: The one who deserves the most credit is Ken Frazier, the chief executive of Merck, who took the lead. The rest were followers. There are two others who haven’t gotten a whiff of credit but should: Bob Iger, chief executive of Disney, and Elon Musk of Tesla, who left the councils long ago because they could not abide the president’s decision to abandon the Paris climate accord.

Still, while those executives and their peers may not be sitting in the Oval Office anytime soon, they won’t be that far away.