Trump artist council members send secret message in resignation letter

Actor Kal Penn acknowledged Friday that a letter to President Trump announcing his and other’s resignations from the president’s arts council was intended to spell out “resist.”

In the letter, the first letters of each paragraph add up to spell the word, which has become a popular motto for Trump’s opponents. 

Responding to a tweet by Hearst Television’s Soledad O’Brien pointing out the letters spelled “resist,” Penn wrote that he “was wondering who was gonna catch that.”

Was wondering who was gonna catch that

— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) August 18, 2017

The group resigned from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) on Friday, citing the president’s recent comments on fatal violence in Charlottesville, Va., in which he appeared to defend white nationalist groups.

{mosads}The letter also calls on Trump himself to resign if he does not clearly denounce hate groups. 

The White House responded to the letter, saying that Trump had decided earlier this month not to continue his work with the arts council, because “it is not a responsible way to spend American tax dollars,” according to The New York Times’ Sopan Debb. 

NEW: White House responds to @kalpenn and others resigning the arts commission, says Trump was going to disband it anyway: pic.twitter.com/9Xi2mzN7av

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 18, 2017

Penn shot back at Trump after the White House issued its statement. 

Lol @realDonaldTrump you can’t break up with us after we broke up with you LMFAO https://t.co/bNy240RNQA

— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) August 18, 2017

The PCAH is the latest presidential council to disband amid growing furor over Trump’s statements on Charlottesville. 

On Wednesday, two economic councils disbanded after several prominent business leaders resigned from the panels. A day later, the White House dropped plans to create a council of outside advisers on infrastructure.