--- title: Donald Trump: Reactions to 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree Speech description: President Trump's speech at the 2017 Boy Scout Jamboree has drawn criticism, with some comparing the speech to a "political rally" canonical: https://time.com/4872107/trump-boy-scout-speech-reactions/ author: Suyin Haynes article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-25T05:28:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:42:47.999Z article:section: Politics og:title: Past and Present Scouts React to Trump's Jamboree Speech og:description: "Shocking abuse of children" og:url: https://time.com/4872107/trump-boy-scout-speech-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc47bc54c4d824e3/6988d6ff4ee262b75930e486/gettyimages-821810776.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4686 og:image:height: 2636 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Past and Present Scouts React to Trump's Jamboree Speech twitter:description: "Shocking abuse of children" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc47bc54c4d824e3/6988d6ff4ee262b75930e486/gettyimages-821810776.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Current and Former Boy Scouts React to President Trump's Jamboree Speech > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Jul 25, 2017 5:28 AM UTC  President Trump speaks during the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, West Virginia, July 24, 2017. President Trump speaks during the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, West Virginia, July 24, 2017. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images by [Suyin Haynes](https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Jul 25, 2017 5:28 AM UTC President Trump’s speech at the [2017 Boy Scout Jamboree](http://time.com/4871947/donald-trump-boy-scout-jamboree/) has drawn criticism from former Boy Scouts and current Scout leaders alike, with some comparing the speech to a [“political rally.”](https://twitter.com/OpPigRoast/status/889641079800287234) During Monday night’s speech, [Trump referred to](http://time.com/4872118/trump-boy-scout-jamboree-speech-transcript/) “this horrible thing known as Obamacare,” called for “more loyalty” and recounted the night of his election as “that famous night on television.” Trump also repeated his claims against “fake media” and “fake news,” despite commencing the speech by saying “we’re going to put that aside.” While the speech was interspersed with applause and chants of “USA! USA! USA!” from the audience, Trump’s comments about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton also elicited boos from the crowd, which was highlighted by users on social media. > [](https://twitter.com/MuslimIQ/status/889640496796246016) > [](https://twitter.com/kate4ez/status/889636357626363904) Former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza made his own comparison between Obama and Trump via Instagram. Current Scout leaders and former Scouts, as well as parents, also used Twitter to voice their criticism of the nature of Trump’s speech. > [](https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/889651708225351680) > [](https://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/889684573864558592) > [](https://twitter.com/dankennedy%5Fnu/status/889628924774363136) > [](https://twitter.com/TedGenoways/status/889643017015001088) > [](https://twitter.com/BakesDeb/status/889640574692843520) In a [statement](http://thehill.com/homenews/news/343545-obama-booed-at-trump-boy-scout-rally), the Boy Scouts of America said that it 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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4872107/trump-boy-scout-speech-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4872107/trump-boy-scout-speech-reactions/"},"headline":"Current and Former Boy Scouts React to President Trump's Jamboree Speech","datePublished":"2017-07-25T05:28:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:42:47.999Z","description":"\"Shocking abuse of children\"","url":"https://time.com/4872107/trump-boy-scout-speech-reactions/","keywords":["White House","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc47bc54c4d824e3/6988d6ff4ee262b75930e486/gettyimages-821810776.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suyin Haynes","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc47bc54c4d824e3/6988d6ff4ee262b75930e486/gettyimages-821810776.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-TRUMP","caption":"US-POLITICS-TRUMP","creditText":"Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4872107/trump-boy-scout-speech-reactions/","name":"Current and Former Boy Scouts React to President Trump's Jamboree Speech"}}]}] ```