All of the public members of President Donald Trump’s arts committee, which is nominally chaired by first lady Melania Trump, resigned on Friday in reaction to the president’s handling of the Charlottesville, Va., violence and aftermath.

“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,” the group said in a letter to the president. The first letter of the first word of the missive’s paragraphs spell out “RESIST,” the mantra of many who oppose Trump.

The letter was signed by all of the 17 nongovernmental officials on the board, many of whom are well-known in the arts and entertainment. Among the signatories was Minnesota Sen. Dick Cohen, DFL-St. Paul. Cohen, like the others, was an Obama-era holdover on the board.

The remaining members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, which was first established under President Ronald Reagan 35 years ago, are ex-officio members who serve on the committee because of their positions in Trump’s administration.

The mass resignations from the arts board mark a further sign of Trump’s isolation in the wake of a white supremacist march in Virginia last weekend that led to the death of a counterprotester. One of the alleged participants in the march, who rallied around a Confederate symbol and chanted Nazi-era slogans, has been charged with murder and may be charged with further crimes.

While the arts committee had little current function, its disintegration — along with public condemnation coming from many Republicans, as well as Democrats, business groups and others — leaves the president with few allies in his reaction to the violence.

PUBLIC BOARDS DISSOLVING

The president has praised “fine” people on “both sides,” a remark applauded by leaders and sympathizers of the KKK and anti-Semitic activists.

Earlier this week, two business boards made up of the nation’s most powerful CEOs and others disbanded after nearly all their members resigned. The CEO of 3M, Inge Thulin, was among the resignations.

On Thursday, the president abandoned his plans to assemble an infrastructure council.

“The President has announced the end of the Manufacturing Council and the Strategy & Policy Forum. In addition, the President’s Advisory Council on Infrastructure, which was still being formed, will not move forward,” a White House official said.

Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic leadership, which has participated in two “ad hoc” meetings with the president, also distanced themselves from Trump but did not say they would cease all future communications with the president, according to a statement.

“The engagement with the current Administration reflects Mayo Clinic’s historic commitment of service to the United States government. As part of that commitment, Mayo Clinic has responded to the call to serve each White House administration back to the time of President Abraham Lincoln,” Mayo spokesperson Karl Oestreich said in a statement. “Mayo Clinic rejects statements of equivalency between Neo-Nazi groups and those who oppose them, and expressions of hatred and bigotry. Mayo Clinic is a place of compassion, respect and trust, and our collective diversity helps make us the best place to work and receive care.”

ARTS BOARD HADN’T MET

Cohen, who was a major supporter of and fundraiser for former President Barack Obama, was among the Minnesota lawmakers who released a statement this week calling Charlottesville, together with racial and religious attacks in Minnesota, a moment to “defend democracy.”

“There are moments in every generation where we are called to defend democracy; to reaffirm our commitment to progress. A moment where we know we must put more time and more attention into the quest for that more perfect union. We stand united on the only acceptable side of this issue: complete opposition to Nazis, the KKK and those who defend their ideology,” said the statement signed by 18 DFL lawmakers who are Jewish, people of color and Native American.

Cohen, who has represented St. Paul in the Legislature since 1976, said the arts council had not met since late last year and members had thought about quitting after the election. Related Articles AP source: Envelope addressed to White House contained ricin

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“We were just holdovers, not doing anything,” he said in an interview. But many decided to hang on until a new committee was formed to ease the transition to Trump picks. But Trump, like with many other areas, has not made appointments.

Meanwhile, one of the key programs the council oversaw — Turnaround Arts, which brought arts education into underperforming schools — was transferred to the the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While the committee had a long history — and a more active role under Obama — it didn’t really have much to do this year.

Then came Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville. Cohen said actor Kal Penn, a member of the committee, reached out to the other members and suggested it was time to quit. The senator said the idea received no pushback — it was simply a matter of crafting the letter of resignation.

“Supremacy, discrimination and vitriol are not American values,” the final letter said. “Your values are not American values. We must be better than this. We are better than this. If this is not clear to you, then we call on you to resign your office, too.”