The Boy Scouts just apologized for the president’s behavior

The Boy Scouts of America are sorry for the way President Trump behaved at their National Jamboree.

On Thursday, chief scout executive for the Boy Scouts Michael Surbaugh apologized to scouts and those who count themselves in the greater “Scouting family” who may have been offended by Trump’s controversial speech at the 20th 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,” Surbaugh said in a statement. “That was never our intent.”

The president’s bizarre remarks to 30,000 children contained (among other things) a mild curse word, attacks on his political opponents, a threat to fire one of his Cabinet members, a rambling account of his time at a cocktail party with “the hottest people in New York,” and what seemed to be an expression of gratitude for how many in the crowd (again, mostly children) voted to elect him president.

Surbaugh’s official apology came after numerous former Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts expressed disgust that the 20th National Jamboree took on the tone of a Trump campaign rally, including chants of, “We love Trump!”

Surbaugh added that inviting Trump speak at the jamboree was not an endorsement of him or of his administration’s policies and concluded, “[W]e sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program.”

For years, people have called upon us to take a position on political issues, and we have steadfastly remained non-partisan and refused to comment on political matters. We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program.

Read Surbaugh’s full statement here.