Trump Says Boy Scouts Called Him And Congratulated Him On His Speech, Boy Scouts Say It Didn’t Happen
Donald Trump claimed last month that the “head” of the Boy Scouts of America personally called him to congratulate him on “the greatest speech that was ever made to them,” and the Boy Scouts deny that any such phone call ever took place, the Washington Post is reporting.
On July 25 — the day after Trump’s controversial speech to the Boy Scout Jamboree — Trump sat down for an interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter. On Tuesday of this week, Politico obtained an unpublished transcript of that interview. In it, the reporter claimed that the speech was getting mixed reactions. In response, Trump said the following.
“I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful. So there was — there was no mix.”
An unnamed source within the Boy Scouts claimed that that phone call never took place.
“We are not aware of any call from national BSA leadership to the White House.”
As Aaron Blake of the Post notes, however, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that someone within the Scouts did make such a phone call to the president, but that the agency is now trying to distance itself from the call.
Trump lies more brazenly, constantly, detectably, and pointlessly than any other leader in world history. https://t.co/0mRzHoV4eb
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) August 2, 2017
It’s the second statement Trump has made about his Jamboree speech that the Scouts denied. After the event, as reported by the Inquisitr, Trump claimed that his speech at the Jamboree was “record-setting” in attendance. The Scouts later clarified that the largest-attended speech by a president at a Jamboree was in the 1950s, during the Eisenhower administration.
The Boy Scouts are calling the President of the United States a liar. This is a thing that is happening. https://t.co/UDdFULXRlS
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) August 2, 2017
In fact, Trump’s speech to the Boy Scouts has been anything but well-received. The speech, which according to ABC News was filled with partisan rhetoric and included references to Obamacare, was met by intensely negative reactions from parents of Boy Scouts, some of whom threatened to pull their sons of out Scouting. The following day, the Scouts released a statement distancing themselves from the speech.
“[The Boy Scouts of America is] wholly nonpartisan and does not promote any one position, product, service, political candidate or philosophy.”
As of this writing, neither Randall L. Stephenson, the National President of the Boy Scouts of America, nor Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh, has publicly and officially commented on Trump’s phone call claim.
[Featured Image by Steve Helber, File/AP Photo]
