Boy Scouts Chief apologizes for President Trump's rhetoric

The Chief of the Boy Scouts of America has apologized to the scouting community who may have been offended or alarmed by President Donald Trump's speech at the organization's National Jamboree, earlier this week.

"I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree, . "That was never our intent." CNN quoted Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh as saying

Speaking before about 40,000 Scouts, Trump delivered a speech that would not have been out of place on his campaign or in his tweets.

He slammed the "fake news" media, promoted the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, boasted about his election night victory and called out the Washington "cesspool."

 

Trump's speech showed a marked change from prior presidential speeches to the Boy Scouts, which generally discussed values and service rather than partisan issues.

"Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts," he said, continuing to speak about politics.

Trump also riffed on the Boy Scouts loyalty pledge to criticize those in Washington.

"We could really use some more loyalty, I will tell you that," Trump said.

In his letter, Surbaugh said Trump's speech had overshadowed the rest of the jamboree and its focus on Scouting.

Scouts have continued to trade patches, climb rock walls, and share stories about the day's adventures at the jamboree ," he said. "But for our Scouting family at home not able to see these real moments of Scouting, we know the past few days have been overshadowed by the remarks offered by the President of the United States."

The tradition of inviting the sitting President to visit the Jamboree dates back to 1937.At the press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she had not seen the letter yet. She said from her firsthand view the Jamboree was "one of the most energetic crowds" she has seen for Trump.