After President Trump turned the Boy Scouts’ 20th annual National Jamboree into a hot topic last week with his politically-tinged speech, the Scouts responded to aftermath in the politest way possible.
Trump had said that following his controversial speech in West Virginia, the head of the organization called to praise him for his words.
“They loved it,” the president told the Wall Street Journal according to a transcript published by Politico, adding that there “was a standing ovation from the time I walked out to the time I left, and for five minutes after I had already gone. There was no mix [reaction].”
However, the scouting organization is disputing that claim from the POTUS, telling Time on Tuesday that they are unaware of any call from national leadership to the White House.
“The Chief Scout Executive’s message to the Scouting community speaks for itself,” a spokesperson said, referring to Michael Surbaugh, the Chief Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts of America, having apologized to anyone in the scouting community who was offended or harmed.
“The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition that has been extended to the leader of our nation that has had a Jamboree during his term since 1937,” he explained.