Fiji Sun

Trump Calls for Loyalty, Criticised For Odd, Disjointed Speech To Scouts

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US President Donald Trump faced criticism on Tuesday for a speech to the annual Boy Scouts of America jamboree in West Virginia in which he urged his audience of 12 to 18-year-olds to boo Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, pitched for Republican healthcare reform and bragged, again, about the size of his electoral college victory.

While national voices criticised Mr Trump’s injection of politics into a notionally apolitical event, parents of scouts responded with unadorned scorn.

One user of the Boy Scouts of America Facebook page posted: “As a Cub Scout den leader and mom of 2 scouts, I am livid … Make my boys and I proud to be part of Boy Scouts instead of embarrasse­d!” Early in his remarks, Mr Trump seemed poised to follow tradition and remain nonpartisa­n and upbeat.

“Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington DC you’ve been hearing about. Who the hell wants to speak about politics?” he said, before a crowd of more than 40,000.

But his rhetorical detente didn’t last long, as Mr Trump seemingly couldn’t resist the temptation of going through some of the greatest hits from the raucous rallies he held on the campaign trail and has continued to stage while in office. By early Tuesday morning, it was clear this was deeply unpopular with parents, leading some to question their continued associatio­n with the organisati­on.

“Son was in Cub Scouts and my husband was a den leader. It’s going to hurt to explain to those Cub Scouts why I can’t support their troop this year … but I’ll do it,” wrote one Facebook user.

Highest on the list of grievances among parents seemed to be Mr Trump having told a rambling story about parties thrown by “New York’s hottest people” and the segregatio­nist builder William Levitt, and his encouragem­ent of booing of Clinton and Obama – the latter once a Boy Scout himself.

“I was horrified that Trump would address the scouts at jamboree with inappropri­ate stories and booing – booing! – a past President,” wrote the mother of an Eagle Scout, the organisati­on’s highest rank. Mr Trump is the eighth President to attend the National Scout Jamboree, which is typically held every four years. Mr Obama did not attend a jamboree but he did address a 100th anniversar­y event in 2010 by video. Each President serves as honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America.

The organisati­on said in a statement that it does not promote any political candidate or philosophy.

Regardless of that stance, Mr Trump used his soapbox to attempt to rally support for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the signature legislativ­e achievemen­t of his predecesso­r on which many West Virginia residents have come to depend for access to health insurance. Mr Trump jokingly threatened to fire his health secretary, Tom Price, another former Boy Scout, if an impending vote to repeal the act was not successful.

Mr Trump also singled out the West Virginia senator Shelley Moore Capito, who has expressed reservatio­ns about the Republican healthcare bill.

Later, as he recited parts of the Scout oath, Mr Trump paused at the word “loyalty”.

“We could use some more loyalty, I’ll tell you that,” mused the man who reportedly demanded such from James Comey, the FBI director he fired.

 ??  ?? US President Donald Trump wave to those in attendance at the annual Boy Scouts of America jamboree.
US President Donald Trump wave to those in attendance at the annual Boy Scouts of America jamboree.

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