'A Disgrace': Evanston Boy Scout Slams Trump Jamboree Speech

EVANSTON, IL — An Evanston Township High School student and Boy Scout authored an open letter to the senior leadership of the Boy Scouts of America critical of President Trump's remarks to the organization last month. Trump spoke to a crowd of about 40,000 at the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve in West Virginia on July 24. The president's 38-minute address included criticism of some of Trump's political opponents, reminiscences from Manhattan cocktail parties and what he described as "dishonest" journalists.

"I am deeply concerned about the message that thousands of the BSA's members received," wrote 17-year-old Evanston Boy Scout Jasper Davidoff, who attended the speech. "The president made the conscious decision to incorporate deeply divisive political speech into an event that warrants nothing of the sort."

Davidoff said Trump's speech "exemplified a destructive form of public discourse unsupported by either the Scout Oath or Law" and "alluded to extremely lewd content."

In his letter, Davidoff asked that senior Boy Scouts leadership issue a clarification that Trump did not speak on behalf of the organization or its values and expressed concern about the message many of the speech's attendees might draw from it. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

"I believe that many of the young people in attendance will interpret from this evening's presentation that they should use Scouting to aggressively attack those they disagree with," he wrote in a public social media post. "Frankly, I believe that the Boy Scouts of America should see the fact that they sanctioned this speech as a disgrace."

After the speech, the Boy Scouts of America issued a note entitled "Perspective on Presidential Visits to the National Jamboree" on its website.

The Boy Scouts of America is wholly non-partisan and does not promote any one political position, candidate or philosophy.

The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition dating back to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937. Since then, an invitation to speak has been extended to every U.S. President that has had a Scout Jamboree occur during his term. This 80-year-old custom of inviting Presidents to speak to Scouts is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies. Rather, the speaking invitation is based on our “Duty to Country” from the Scout Oath and out of respect for the Office of the President of the United States.

As one of America’s largest youth-serving organizations, the Boy Scouts of America reflects a number of cultures and beliefs. We will continue to be respectful of the wide variety of viewpoints in this country.

» Boy Scouts CEO Apologizes For Trump Speech At Jamboree

_{President Donald J. Trump Addresses the 2017 Boy Scouts National Jamboree, July 24, Glen Jean, West Virginia}

In the days that followed, Evanston Mayor Steve Hagerty was one of more than a thousand people to share Davidoff's letter on social media. He said he was proud of the rising ETHS senior, whom he said he'd "known since he was just a little kid running around the neighborhood."

Davidoff's scout master in Evanston Boy Scout Troop 3, Peter Mueller, told the Evanston Review the letter was "tremendous," "appropriate" and "required." Mueller questioned some of the political content in Trump's address but told the paper he appreciated the president taking the time to visit the jamboree.

Davidoff's mom said she and her husband encourage their children to stand by their principles and take responsibility, the Evanston Review reported. Davidoff, for his part, has no plans to leave the Boy Scouts and hopes to become an Eagle Scout this summer.

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_{Top photo: President Donald J. Trump Addresses the 2017 Boy Scouts National Jamboree, July 24, Glen Jean, West Virginia | via White House}