He used the speech to brag about his victory in November once again, to bash the media and denigrate the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
You can read the full transcript of Trump's speech here. It is an amazingly classless and inappropriate speech considering the audience. Remember, the audience was primarily boys under the age of 18. It should have been a non-political, non-partisan message, complimenting the boys on their achievements and encouraging them to continue their dedication to community and country as they move to adulthood. It should not have been a pro-Trump, anti-Obama, Hillary, and Democratic tirade. Remember, these are kids, not voters, that Trump was addressing.
He also emphasized one of the tenants of the Boy Scout law. That would be loyalty. It's an issue that Trump seems to be obsessed with. He demands loyalty from those around him, yet doesn't hesitate to throw his allies under the bus and/or abandon them. Trump loyalty is pretty much one-way loyalty. The one-way is loyalty to him, not from him. Unfortunately, Trump forgets the other tenants of scouting - "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent." How many of those describe Trump? He hinted during the speech that he was a Scout, yet I was unable to find any verification of that. If Trump was a Scout, he has failed to carry those principals into adulthood.
Addressing a Boy Scout gathering should be like a high school commencement speech. It should be about the children and their future. It should be encouraging to those young people. It certainly should not be used as a platform to brag or to advance a particular political agenda.
Ironically, Trump said near the beginning of the speech, "Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington, D.C. you've been hearing about with the fake news and all of that. We're going to put that...
We're going to put that aside. And instead we're going to talk about success, about how all of you amazing young Scouts can achieve your dreams, what to think of, what I've been thinking about. You want to achieve your dreams, I said, who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?"
He then made much of the speech political and about fights in Washington.
As a matter of full disclosure, I was a Cub Scout for one year. I earned a couple of minor badges but never really got into scouting. One reason might be that on a field trip, another Cubbie hooked me in the cheek when we went fishing. The hook had to be cut and pulled through. I never matriculated to Boy Scout. That's probably why I turned out to be a derelict. I was also very disappointed a few years ago when the Boy Scouts refused to admit homosexual boys and banned homosexual Scout leaders. They have since backed off from their homophobic stance but it was only because of public and corporate sponsor opposition.
Maybe some day Trump will learn that there is a difference between campaigning and governing. Maybe he will learn what is appropriate for a US President. Maybe, but I doubt it.
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