The Washington Post did a tick tock of last week's extraordinary events with commentary from reporters and other observers.
Here's the passage about the Boy Scout speech:
Stokols: You didn’t realize until you walked into the amphitheater that it was like a giant campaign rally. These are probably the biggest crowds he’s seen since Inauguration Day. And knowing how Trump feeds off of crowds — you know this is now going to be a thing.
David: I know the speeches aren’t supposed to be political. I was hoping to hear how we can help our communities and embody scouting values. When he said, Who the hell wants to talk about politics? — I wish you could have seen my face cheer up.
Stokols: When he said, “Who the hell wants to speak about politics?” it was an immediate red flashing light to me that things were about to get political.
The president proceeds to deliver an address lambasting the “fake news media” and the Washington “cesspool.” He joked about firing his health and human services secretary — who was onstage with him. He told a meandering story about yachts. And he sneered at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
In a speech at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, W.Va., July 24, President Trump said Washington, D.C., is a “sewer.” (The Washington Post)
Jarren: What he did was, he said, “Did Barack Obama ever come to a jamboree?” And we all said, “Nooooo!” Because he had never came to a jamboree. A president should take the time to support Boy Scouts.
David: When he said, “Barack Obama,” I screamed “Oh my god,” and put my hands over my head. It was so unreal. I thought I was in a dream. He got the crowd to boo. It made me so sad.
Jarren: I remember when he said not to lose momentum on anything you do. It reminded me to never give up.
Kat Timpf: It’s a strange thing to use your time in front of tens of thousands of teenagers to brag about your election win and your partying days in New York.
Stokols: When you’re covering a speech like that, it’s like a microcosm of covering the whole presidency. You’re just treading water — you’ll fixate on one thing that’s kind of wild and then you’ll miss something else. I missed the “Under the Trump administration you’ll be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again when you go shopping” thing because I was so busy trying to make sense of the yacht story.
David: There were disagreements all over camp. Some people saying “F Trump,” some people saying “MAGA.” I heard there was a troop from New York that had a troop from Texas right next to them and the leaders had to keep them separate.
Here's what Trump told the Wall Street Journal the next morning
PRESIDENT TRUMP: But we’re up. We have now – are you going tonight? Are you going to the speech in Ohio tonight?
WSJ: We were in West Virginia yesterday.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, you did? Was that a scene, though? Huh?
WSJ: That was a scene, yes. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Biggest crowd they’ve ever had. What did you think?
WSJ: I thought it was an interesting speech in the context of the Boy Scouts.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Right.
WSJ: They seemed to get a lot of feedback from former scouts and –
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Did they like it?
WSJ: It seemed mixed.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: They loved it. (Laughter.) It wasn’t – it was no mix. That was a standing –
WSJ: In the – you got a good – you got a good reaction in –
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I mean, you know, he writes mostly negative stuff. But that was a standing ovation –
WSJ: You got a good reaction inside the arena, that’s right.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: – from the time I walked out on the stage – because I know. And by the way, I’d be the first to admit mixed. I’m a guy that will tell you mixed. There was no mix there. That 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.
WSJ: Yeah, there was a lot of supporters in the arena.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: And I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful. So there was – there was no mix.
