Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has announced that he will step down from President Trump's economic advisory council. In the memo, obtained by Refinery29, Kalanick says, "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." He goes on to point out two key reasons for leaving: "Inside Out - The implicit assumption that Uber (or I) was somehow endorsing the Administration’s agenda has created a perception-reality gap between who people think we are, and who we actually are. Just Change - We must believe that the actions we take ultimately move the ball forward. There are many ways we will continue to advocate for just change on immigration but staying on the council was going to get in the way of that. The executive order is hurting many people in communities all across America. Families are being separated, people are stranded overseas and there’s a growing fear the U.S. is no longer a place that welcomes immigrants." The move is a surprising one, given that Kalanick defended his reasons for joining the economic advisory council in a message to employees just five days ago. However, it's clear that the public response and that of his employees played a role. He closed the email with the following: "Please know, your questions and stories on Tuesday, along with what I heard from drivers, have kept me resilient and reminded me of one of our most essential cultural values, Be Yourself. We will fight for the rights of immigrants in our communities so that each of us can be who we are with optimism and hope for the future."