[BBC] Trump boy scout Jamboree speech angers parents

Trump boy scout Jamboree speech angers parents

Parents have expressed anger after President Donald Trump delivered a highly politicised speech to tens of thousands of boy scouts.

Mr Trump started by saying: "Who the hell wants to speak about politics?"

But his speech to the Jamboree in West Virginia railed against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the "cesspool" of politics, drawing whoops and cheers.

One parent wrote: "Done with scouts after you felt the need to have my kid listen to a liar stroke his ego."

The Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of America is held every four years and drew about 35,000 scouts from the ages of 12 to 18 to the latest event, held in Beaver, West Virginia, on Monday evening.

The Jamboree had issued a warning on its blog about being respectful.

It read: "Chants of certain phrases heard during the campaign (e.g. 'build the wall', 'lock her up') are considered divisive by many members of our audience, and may cause unnecessary friction."

But in a rambling 35-minute speech, Mr Trump whipped up a response of boos, cheers, chants and jeers as he lambasted fake news, Hillary Clinton's election campaign and President Obama's failure to address a Jamboree in person.

Responding to the criticism of the speech, the Boy Scouts of America insisted it was "wholly non-partisan and does not promote any one position, product, service, political candidate or philosophy".

It said the invitation to Mr Trump was a "long-standing tradition and is in no way an endorsement of any political party or specific policies".

But the Boy Scouts of America Facebook page carried a number of angry posts.

Jude Nevans Cleaver wrote: "I am the proud mother of a former scout who was sheltered from that pack of lies speech at the Jamboree. Done with scouts after you felt the need to have my kid listen to a liar stroke his ego on our time."

Debbie S. Milligan said: "Wow, this is what you are teaching the Boy Scouts? To be disrespectful to a Past President. One that had been a Boy Scout, unlike the current President. Completely disrespectful!"

On Instagram, Pete Souza, the former chief official White House photographer, posted a picture of President Barack Obama meeting a scout.

"I can assure you, POTUS [president of the United States] was not telling this Cub Scout and the Boy Scouts who followed about his electoral college victory," Mr Souza wrote.

Many parents, lobbyists and politicians took to social media to cite the 107-year-old organisation's values, and to suggest Mr Trump had failed them.

Lobbyist for women's and LGBT rights Amy Siskind tweeted: "If the Boy Scouts organization has any decency, they'll come out with a statement tonight denouncing Trump, and giving instructions for all troop leaders to speak to these boys about what they just heard and why it was wrong."






But the tweets were not all anti-Trump, with some praising the scouts for their love of the president.

 

So what were the memorable moments?

The size of the crowd

A familiar point of contention for the president, who was lambasted in the media over his estimation of the numbers at his inauguration address.

"Boy, you have a lot of people here. The press will say it's about 200 people. (Draws laughter.) It looks like about 45,000 people. You set a record today."

"Fake media, fake media," he says, to boos and cheers.

Boy Scout credentials

Mr Trump says he has 10 ex-boy scouts in his cabinet and in the White House and turns on Barack Obama.

"By the way, just a question: did President Obama ever come to a Jamboree?" Mr Trump asks. The audience shouts "No!". Mr Obama did address the Jamboree by video link in 2010. He was also a former boy scout, unlike Mr Trump.

The election victory

Mr Trump decries the electoral college system but goes through his victories, mentioning state after state to various cheers. He then says he worked hard in Michigan, adding "my opponent didn't work hard there" which draws boos from the audience.

Obamacare and the veiled threat

The audience of youngsters is introduced to former boy scout Tom Price, the health secretary.

He tells Mr Price he had "better get senators to vote" when a showdown on healthcare comes up on Tuesday.

Mr Trump says: "He better get them. He better get them. Oh, he better - otherwise, I'll say 'Tom, you're fired!' I'll get somebody". More applause.

The "sewer"

"You know, I go to Washington and I see all these politicians and I see the swamp and it's not a good place," says Mr Trump.

"In fact, today I said we ought to change it from the word 'swamp' to the word 'cesspool' or perhaps to the word 'sewer'."

Scout values

Mr Trump says: "As the scout law says, a scout is trustworthy, loyal. We could use some more loyalty, I will tell you that."

A nod, perhaps, to the James Comey affair. The sacked FBI chief claimed Mr Trump had demanded loyalty from him, something the president denies.

 

Trump could shown the scouts the correct way to grab a women by the ....

 

[NPR] Trump's Boy Scouts Speech And The Thin Line Between Openness And Recklessness

Know your audience is usually the first rule of public speaking. But that doesn't really seem to matter all that much to President Trump.

Trump became overtly political in yet another setting that some are seeing as over the line — in a speech to the Boy Scouts.

Ironically, Trump began his remarks Monday night promising not to talk about politics.

"Tonight, we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington, D.C., you've been hearing about with the fake news and all of that," Trump said at the Boy Scouts National Jamboree in West Virginia. "We're going to put that aside. And instead we're going to talk about success, about how all of you amazing young Scouts can achieve your dreams, what to think of, what I've been thinking about. You want to achieve your dreams, I said, who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?"

Apart from using "hell" in front of an audience of thousands of minors, Trump did not stick to that promise. His speech quickly became political.

"You know, I go to Washington," Trump said, "and I see all these politicians, and I see the swamp, and it's not a good place. In fact, today, I said we ought to change it from the word 'swamp' to the word 'cesspool' or perhaps to the word 'sewer.' "

Not exactly the message of how to affect constructive change through politics. Trump was just getting warmed up.

He shouted out to some of the members of his administration who were former Scouts, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was a past president of Boy Scouts of America and was honored at the event with a bronze statue; Vice President Pence; Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke; Energy Secretary Rick Perry; and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Price's name triggered something for Trump.

"Dr. Price still lives the Scout oath, helping to keep millions of Americans strong and healthy as our secretary of Health and Human Services," Trump began. And then: "And he's doing a great job. And hopefully he's going to gets the votes [Tuesday] to start our path toward killing this horrible thing known as Obamacare that's really hurting us."

Trump's injection of Price getting health care votes was odd, not just because Trump pledged not to talk politics, but because Price is a member of Trump's Cabinet with no control over Senate votes. He wasn't even a senator; he was a member of the House, so while he has contacts in Congress, his strongest relationships are on the other side of the Capitol.

Trump wasn't done with Price. "By the way, are you going to get the votes?" Trump asked, looking at Price. "He better get them. He better get them. Oh, he better. Otherwise I'll say, 'Tom, you're fired.' I'll get somebody."

Trump looked like he was joking. Right, Secretary Price? Right. Haha. Hehe. Hoohoo.

"He better get Sen. Capito to vote for it," Trump noted of the senator from West Virginia, who has been undecided even about the motion to proceed to debate on health care. "He better get the other senators to vote for it. It's time. You know, after seven years of saying 'repeal and replace Obamacare,' we have a chance to now do it. They better do it. Hopefully they'll do it."

 

Trump has been on fire of late when it comes to rattling the people who work for him. After shaking up his White House Friday — bringing in a new communications director in New York hedge-fund manager Anthony Scaramucci, which led to the prompt resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer — Trump has been publicly shaming his attorney general, Jeff Sessions.

Trump called Sessions "beleaguered" on Monday and then whacked him again on Twitter on Tuesday, criticizing him for not going after his presidential campaign rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, and leaks in the intelligence community. Ignore the fact that once Trump won the presidency, he said he didn't think it was a good idea to try and prosecute Clinton.

Suffice it to say, Sessions, another Eagle Scout member of Trump's Cabinet, was not on hand.

Trump took an oblique shot at Republicans in Congress, too: "As the Scout law says, a Scout is trustworthy, loyal — we could use some more loyalty, I will tell that you that."

The crowd's chanting seemed to egg him on. He took a familiar campaign shot at the media.

"By the way, what do you think the chances are that this incredible massive crowd, record setting, is going to be shown on television tonight?" Trump said. "One percent or zero? The fake media will say, 'President Trump spoke' — you know what is – 'President Trump spoke before a small crowd of Boy Scouts today.' That's some — that is some crowd. Fake media. Fake news."

He was really rolling at that point, but it should be noted this was not a campaign rally, though Trump began to treat it like one. It had a familiar feeling and seemed to provide the adulation that fuels him.

The Boy Scouts pointed out that the organization is "nonpartisan," that this was a "long-standing tradition" to invite presidents to their jamboree. Trump is the eighth to attend.

"By the way, just a question, did President Obama ever come to a Jamboree?" Trump said looking around with his arms stretched out wide. "And we'll be back. We'll be back. The answer is no. But we'll be back."

It's true that Obama never attended in person, but he did tape a video message in 2010. And while Trump wants to show his affinity with the Scouts, he wasn't one. President Obama, on the other hand, was.

Trump's use of "hell" was not the only utterance that could be seen as inappropriate by parents of the assembled Scouts. The president of the United States, in front of adolescent boys, went on to allude to a sordid story of the way a rich friend, William Levitt of Levittown fame (or infamy), lived his life after making his money.

"Sold his company for a tremendous amount of money," Trump said. "And he went out and bought a big yacht, and he had a very interesting life. I won't go any more than that, because you're Boy Scouts, so I'm not going to tell you what he did. Should I tell you? Should I tell you? You're Boy Scouts, but you know life. You know life."

Trump seemed to realize that as much as he wanted to tell the story, his "locker room talk" might not be appropriate. For as much as he wanted to mock the media and say the cameras weren't turned on, he knew they were. He knew every word he said was being recorded and on camera with thousands of witnesses.

Some of the boys howled, as boys do, but some of their parents didn't seem too pleased, based on the comments on BSA's Facebook page.

Trump then meandered back to try for an inspirational moment: "So as much as you can do something that you love, work hard and never ever give up, and you're going to be tremendously successful, tremendously successful."

But then he veered off course again to talk about himself:

"Now, with that, I have to tell you our economy is doing great. Our stock market has picked up since the election, Nov. 8 — do we remember that day? Was that a beautiful day? What a day. Do you remember that famous night on television, November 8th where they said, these dishonest people, where they said, there is no path to victory for Donald Trump. They forgot about the forgotten people."

And then he launched into a long, meandering riff about his Electoral College win:

There was even more — he went on about the latest jobs report, how people will be saying "Merry Christmas" again and the "billions and billions and billions" more money he's going to be pouring into the military.

This wasn't the first time he has talked about politics in a setting where that could be seen as inappropriate. Remember that speech in front of the CIA memorial wall in which he asserted that most of the people in the room probably voted for him?

It won't be the last time, either.

This president couldn't care less about political and societal norms. But let's be very clear — none of this is normal. Trump has been publicly shaming his attorney general, mocking special counsel and congressional investigations and confirming the existence of what was previously a covert CIA program — and that's all just Tuesday, and he did it on Twitter.

Trump has no filter. It's giving Americans a window into his mind, but there's a thin line between openness and recklessness.

 

They did not. My son is currently there.

We were told that the POTUS would be invited, but no guarantees.

 

The 14 Most Inappropriate Moments From Trump’s Speech at the Boy Scout Jamboree

“Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts?” President Trump asked the 40,000 people gathered in Glen Jean, West Virginia, on Monday for the Boy Scout Jamboree.

The answer is President Trump. The event, which occurs every four years, was attended by about 24,000 boys, ages 12 to 18, but Trump treated it like a raucous campaign rally. During a rambling, 35-minute speech, he playfully threatened a member of his cabinet about getting the votes to repeal Obamacare, recounted his election win in great detail, and attacked President Obama.

A post on the Jamboree’s blog had warned troops to be “courteous” and refrain from chanting phrases like “lock her up” as they are “considered divisive by many members of our audience, and may cause unnecessary friction between individuals and units.” That did not prevent the audience from applauding Trump’s partisan attacks and even booing when he mentioned Hillary Clinton.

It seems the president had prepared a speech about letting “your scouting oath guide your path,” but his trademark asides and non sequiturs dominated the address. Here are Trump’s weird comments to his largely underage audience.

1. Trump starts off by marveling at the size of the crowd and attacking the press.
2. Trump calls our nation’s capital a “cesspool.”
3. Trump boasts that ten members of his cabinet were Boy Scouts, then threatens to fire one of them.
4. Trump says we need more “loyalty,” doesn’t explain what he’s referring to.
5. Trump marvels at the size of the crowd and attacks the “fake media” for refusing to show it (though CNN aired the speech).
6. Trump attacks his predecessor for failing to address the Boy Scouts (Obama sent a video message in 2010).
7. Trump tells a long, meandering story about the real-estate developer William Levitt and alludes to “interesting” activities he engaged in on his yacht.
8. Trump recalls meeting Levitt at a hot New York party.
9. Trump tells the boys the lesson to take from Levitt’s life is not to lose “momentum” — but if you do, that’s okay, too.
10. Trump recalls his victory on November 8, and attacks the “dishonest people” for doubting that he could win.
11. Trump goes through his victories state by state and criticizes Hillary Clinton.
12. Trump thanks his audience — which again, consisted largely of children — for voting for him in November.
13. Trump makes a false claim about the latest jobs reports, and updates the kids on his tax-repatriation plan.
14. Trump assures the Scouts, out of nowhere, that they can finally say “Merry Christmas” again.