Trump White House to Uber: F--- you
Following Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's decision to quit President Trump's business advisory council, the sentiment within the White House is, according to Mike Allen of Axios, as follows: "If you want to cut off access to the White House, f--- you."
That quote comes to Allen from "some in Trump's inner circle," he reported. (Allen is deeply sourced within the Trump administration.)
Kalanick announced to Uber staff in a memo Thursday that he won't be attending Trump's closed-door business advisory meeting and has quit the advisory council following pressure from employees, drivers, and the public.
"Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that," Kalanick wrote in the memo, which was obtained by Business Insider.
To be clear, Kalanick likely wasn't literally told "f--- you" during his call Thursday with Trump. But that is the way the White House feels about Kalanick's decision to distance himself and Uber from the administration following the reaction to Trump's executive order banning immigration from seven predominately Muslim countries.