Ted Genoways was an Eagle Scout. So was his father. And his son is likely to become one next summer. So when he blasted Donald Trump in a Tweetstorm after the president’s speech at the annual National Scout Jamboree, it caught people’s attention.
For the past 80 years, presidents have stayed away from politics in their talks to the tens of thousands of Scouts and their families that gather at the event, instead discussing topics like good citizenship and helping others. Trump broke away from that, hitting his favorite bullet points of fake news, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama’s legacy.
Genoways did not appreciate the overtly political address:
https://twitter.com/TedGenoways/status/889642807497023488
https://twitter.com/TedGenoways/status/889643017015001088
https://twitter.com/TedGenoways/status/889643191510728704
The author of This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family, says Trump turned the talk into a stump speech for no reason, saying, “He made the national gathering of Boy Scouts about himself only [because] he makes everything [about] himself.”
While Genoways admits to having a “conflicted” relationship with the Scouts, he accuses the president of making “a mockery” of the ideals they stand for—and he urged the Boy Scouts to disavow the statements.
Genoways might have a deeper scout pedigree than some others, but he was hardly the only Scout parent who was upset at the speech. Twitter was flooded with comments from parents who had plenty to add.
https://twitter.com/SphynxCatsRule/status/889647414893785094
As a Scout leader, my stomach is in knots about what Trump did today. If you haven't watched it yet, don't. It's downright icky.
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) July 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/Leila_A_Rice/status/889676297852604417
In a statement about the Jamboree speech, the Boy Scouts didn’t directly address Trump’s topics, instead noting that the organization is “wholly non-partisan and does not promote any one position, product, service, political candidate or philosophy. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition and is in no way an endorsement of any political party or specific policies.”