Story highlights The controversy over Trump's response to the Charlottesville attack has lasted through the week

Business leaders and now fellow Republicans have begun to distance themselves from Trump

Trump is scheduled to hold a rally next week in Arizona, where he's feuding with a senator and hinted about a controversial pardon

Washington (CNN) More than most men who've had his job, President Donald Trump is familiar with the feel of a controversy, its life cycles, how it grows, how it goes out. Instead of climbing the political ladder as a state legislator or US House member before becoming a senator or governor to audition for the top role in politics, he worked in show business, first as a brash tabloid real estate tycoon, later a reality show host, and most recently, the leader of the debunked "birther" movement. Controversies are like fires, and he's played with them before.

The attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the spark. Trump responded differently than some thought he would have if the suspect had been a "radical Islamic extremist" -- a phrase he's said was must-use. "To solve a problem, you have to be able to state what the problem is, or at least say the name," he said during a presidential debate.

But Trump didn't say the name this time. His response Saturday did not mention the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists or the so-called "alt-right." But it did include the phrase "on many sides." The white supremacists viewed it as tacit support. A statement Monday seemed to be damage control, calling out the enemies by name, calling them "repugnant," and leaving no wiggle room: "Racism is evil," Trump said.

But by Tuesday, he'd reversed course. "I think there is blame on both sides," he said from a lectern in front of the elevator bank at Trump Tower. As a man who proudly champions winning and winners, he defended the losers of a war that ended more than a century-and-a-half ago, opposing the removal of Confederate monuments and equating them with the country's founders. "So, this week, it is Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?"

It was the political equivalent of adding more kindling to the fire and blowing on it, giving it air, letting it grow. You can tell how big a controversy is by how many people it gets too hot for. It started with business leaders. One by one, CEOs resigned from Trump's manufacturing council. There was Merck, Under Armour and Intel. Before the trickle of defections could become a flood, Trump disbanded the council. You can't break up with me if I break up with you first.

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