White House press secretary Sarah Sanders dodged questions Thursday on whether she believes President Trump needs to apologize to the Boy Scouts of America after the organization itself issued an apology for the “political rhetoric” incited in Trump’s speech.
“I was at the event, and I saw nothing but roughly 40 to 45,000 Boy Scouts cheering the president on throughout his remarks,” Sanders said after being asked if Trump might apologize. “I think they were pretty excited that he was there and happy to hear him speak to them.”
The Boy Scouts of America issued an apology Thursday after parents and former Scouts complained about the partisan nature of Trump’s speech at the National Boy Scout Jamboree in West Virginia on Monday.
During the speech, Trump joked that he would fire Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price if the Senate didn’t pass a bill repealing Obamacare, and criticized former President Barack Obama for not addressing the event in person.
“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. That was never our intent,” Michael Surbaugh, chief scout executive, said in a statement Thursday.
“It is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies. 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,” he said.
