Zach Wahls, co-founder of Scouts for
Equality, has criticized remarks President Donald Trump made Monday
in a speech at a national Boy Scouts gathering.
Trump addressed tens of thousands of
Scouts in West Virginia during the group's 2017 National Boy Scout
Jamboree.
The president shared the stage with
Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Health Secretary Tom Price, both of
whom were in scouting.
In speaking at the event, Trump railed
against his enemies, including the media, and cursed before the crowd
of young men. He also jokingly threatened to fire Price is he failed
to deliver votes on the GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable
Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
“Who the hell wants to speak about
politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts? Right?” Trump said
before launching into a what sounded like a stump speech.
Jon Wolfsthal, a former special
assistant to President Barack Obama, said in a tweet that Trump
turned the event into a “Nazi Youth rally.”
Scouts for Equality lobbied the Boy
Scouts to end its ban on openly gay and transgender scouts and
leaders.
Wahls told the AP that Trump's remarks
“really harmed the Boy Scouts' ability to do that work, which is
all about serving America.”
“The wrong speech at the wrong place
at the wrong time,” he added.