Boy Scouts of America apologise for US President Trump's speech
Boy Scouts of America has apologised for US President Donald Trump’s “inappropriate” speech at the 19th National Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia.
Mr Trump's speech drew intense criticism from former scouts, parents of scouts and others, with many saying the speech was not in keeping with scout values and unsuitable.
In front of 40,000 participants, including boy scouts, volunteers, staff and visitors, Mr Trump lauded hard work and perseverance, and then quickly turned to partisan attacks and ridicule of “fake media”.
He attacked Democratic rivals, lambasted the current healthcare law and reminisced about a cocktail party he went to decades ago filled with "the hottest people in New York."
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In a statement on the Boy Scouts of America website, head Michael Surbaugh said he extended his “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,” he said.
“The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition dating back to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937.
“Since then, an invitation to speak has been extended to every U.S. President that has had a Scout Jamboree occur during his term.”
Mr Surbaugh said the Boy Scouts of America reflected “a number of cultures and beliefs” and would continue to be respectful of a wide variety of viewpoints.
While many Scouting families expressed outrage, a few said the reaction was overblown, arguing that exposure to political speech in all forms was an important part of a scout's development.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said she had not seen Surbaugh's letter of apology, and said she attended the event.
"I saw nothing but roughly 40,000 to 45,000 boy scouts cheering the president on throughout his remarks and I think they were pretty excited that he was there," Ms Sanders said.
