Trump’s speech at Scout jamboree roundly criticized

CHARLESTON, W.VA. — No knot-tying demonstrations. No woodcarving advice. President Donald Trump went straight to starting a fire in a speech at a national Boy Scout gathering.

Parents, former Scouts and others were furious after Trump railed against his enemies, promoted his political agenda and underlined his insistence on loyalty before an audience of tens of thousands of school-age Scouts in West Virginia Monday night.

“Is nothing safe?” Jon Wolfsthal, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, wrote on Twitter, saying Trump turned the event into a “Nazi Youth rally.”

Trump, the eighth president to address the National Scout Jamboree, was cheered by the crowd, but his comments put an organization that has tried in recent years to avoid political conflict and become more inclusive in an awkward position.

The Boy Scouts’ official Facebook page was barraged with comments condemning the speech. Several people posted links to the Scouts’ policy on participation in political events — which sharply limits what Scouts should do.

One woman wrote in disbelief that the Scouts started booing when Trump mentioned Obama.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former president of the Boy Scouts, invited Trump to the gathering.

The pushback from Americans over the speech included members from both parties.

The Boy Scouts of America said in a statement: “We will continue to be respectful of the wide variety of viewpoints.”

Trump kicked off his speech by saying, to cheers from the boys, “Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?”

Trump began to recite the Scout law, a 12-point oath that starts with a Scout being trustworthy and loyal.

“We could use some more loyalty, I will tell you that,” he said.

In one aside, he told the boys they could begin saying “Merry Christmas” on his watch.

Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout and co-founder of Scouts for Equality, a nonprofit that has pushed to end discrimination against gay and transgender Scouts, said Trump’s remarks “really harmed the Boy Scouts’ ability to do that work, which is about serving America.”

“The wrong speech at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Wahls said.