Parents and family of scouts complained after Trump encouraged boos for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and bragged about attending ‘hot’ New York parties

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Donald Trump faced criticism on Tuesday for a speech to the annual Boy Scouts of America jamboree in West Virginia in which he urged his audience of 12- to 18-year-olds to boo Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, pitched for Republican healthcare reform and bragged, again, about the size of his electoral college victory.

Trump's speech to Boy Scouts: fake news, crowd size and New York's hottest people Read more

While national voices criticised Trump’s injection of politics into a notionally apolitical event, parents of scouts responded with unadorned scorn.

One user of the Boy Scouts of America Facebook page posted: “As a Cub Scout den leader and mom of 2 scouts, I am livid … Make my boys and I proud to be part of Boy Scouts instead of embarrassed!”

Early in his remarks, Trump seemed poised to follow tradition and remain nonpartisan and upbeat.

“Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington DC you’ve been hearing about,” he said, before a crowd of more than 40,000. “Who the hell wants to speak about politics?”

But his rhetorical detente didn’t last long, as Trump seemingly couldn’t resist the temptation of going through some of the greatest hits from the raucous rallies he held on the campaign trail and has continued to stage while in office. By early Tuesday morning, it was clear this was deeply unpopular with parents, leading some to question their continued association with the organization.

“Son was in Cub Scouts and my husband was a den leader,” wrote one Facebook user. “It’s going to hurt to explain to those Cub Scouts why I can’t support their troop this year … but I’ll do it.”

Highest on the list of grievances among parents seemed to be Trump having told a rambling story about parties thrown by “New York’s hottest people” and the segregationist builder William Levitt, and his encouragement of booing of Clinton and Obama – the latter once a Boy Scout himself.

“I was horrified that Trump would address the scouts at jamboree with inappropriate stories and booing – booing! – a past president,” wrote the mother of an Eagle Scout, the organization’s highest rank.

Trump is the eighth president to attend the National Scout Jamboree, which is typically held every four years. Obama did not attend a jamboree but he did address a 100th anniversary event in 2010 by video. Each president serves as honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America.

The organization said in a statement that it does not promote any political candidate or philosophy.

Regardless of that stance, Trump used his soapbox to attempt to rally support for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the signature legislative achievement of his predecessor on which many West Virginia residents have come to depend for access to health insurance.

Trump jokingly threatened to fire his health secretary, Tom Price, another former Boy Scout, if an impending vote to repeal the act was not successful.

“Hopefully he’s going to get the votes tomorrow to start our path toward killing this horrible thing known as Obamacare,” Trump said, before turning to Price.

“He better get ’em,” Trump said, before reprising the catchphrase from his one-time reality TV hit, The Apprentice: “Otherwise, I’ll say: ‘Tom, you’re fired.’”

Trump also singled out the West Virginia senator Shelley Moore Capito, who has expressed reservations about the Republican healthcare bill.

“You better get Senator Capito to vote for it,” he said, in remarks directed towards Price. “You gotta get the other senators to vote for it. It’s time.”

Later, as he recited parts of the Scout oath, Trump paused at the word “loyalty”.

“We could use some more loyalty, I’ll tell you that,” mused the man who reportedly demanded such from James Comey, the FBI director he fired.

Sign up for the Guardian Today: US edition. Get the day’s must-reads sent directly to you every morning