--- ---  # The Head of the Boy Scouts Just Apologized After Trump's National Jamboree Speech  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 27, 2017 5:05 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia, July 24, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia, July 24, 2017.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 27, 2017 5:05 PM UTC The Chief Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts of America apologized Thursday to anyone in the scouting community who may have been offended or alarmed by [President Donald Trump’s speech](http://time.com/4871947/donald-trump-boy-scout-jamboree/) at the organization’s 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,” Michael Surbaugh [wrote in a statement](http://scoutingwire.org/chief-perspective-presidential-visit/). “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 more:** [3 controversial things Donald Trump told the Boy Scouts National Jamboree ](http://time.com/4872572/donald-trump-president-boy-scout-national-jamboree/) During Trump’s speech, the President invoked his election victory, slamming both his onetime opponent [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4869627/donald-trump-jr-hillary-clinton-emails/) and his predecessor, [former President Barack Obama,](http://time.com/4872425/boy-scouts-america-jamboree-donald-trump-barack-obama/) eliciting a series of boos from the crowd. He also derided what he called the “fake news” media. Read Surbaugh’s statement in full below: --- > “” --- National Jamboree: Boy Scouts Head Apologizes for Trump ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4876705/donald-trump-boy-scout-jamboree-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4876705/donald-trump-boy-scout-jamboree-speech/"},"headline":"The Head of the Boy Scouts Just Apologized After Trump's National Jamboree Speech","datePublished":"2017-07-27T17:05:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:45:52.648Z","description":"\"My sincere apologies to those ... who were offended by the political rhetoric\"","url":"https://time.com/4876705/donald-trump-boy-scout-jamboree-speech/","keywords":["Donald Trump","White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43ca5f607d292fc6/6988d77297cdff9c3b6b1c6b/gettyimages-8218106881.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43ca5f607d292fc6/6988d77297cdff9c3b6b1c6b/gettyimages-8218106881.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump Boy Scouts","caption":"Donald Trump Boy Scouts","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/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4876705/donald-trump-boy-scout-jamboree-speech/","name":"The Head of the Boy Scouts Just Apologized After Trump's National Jamboree Speech"}}]}] ```