Sarah Huckabee Sanders Admits Trump Lied About Two Recent Phone Calls

When a Boy Scout says “Scout’s honor,” it means they are pledging on the principles of scouting to keep a promise. It’s a pledge that strikes to the heart and credibility of the entire scouting movement. Present Trump could learn a lesson or two from the scouts about honesty after being caught in a lie about a supposed phone call with the organization.

Last month, Trump made a speech at the Boy Scouts National Jamboree in West Virginia to a crowd of 40,000 people. Instead of giving an age-appropriate speech, Trump went on a free-flowing diatribe where he bragged about his 2016 victory, referred to Washington as a “cesspool,” and cast former President Obama in a negative light. After the speech, the Boy Scouts released a statement apologizing for the president. “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,” chief scout executive Mike Surbaugh said. “That was never our intent.”

Last week, when reporters from the Wall Street Journal asked the president about the mixed reaction to the speech, Trump said he received a call from the organization praising it. “There was no mix,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal. “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.”

But the Boy Scouts don’t remember that call ever taking place. “We are unaware of any such call,” the Boy Scouts said in a statement.

On Wednesday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was forced into a tight spot. She could either lie on behalf of the president by saying there was a call, throwing the scouting organization under the bus or admit it never happened. So she opted to say the remarks were made in-person at the jamboree. “I wouldn’t say it was a lie — that’s a pretty bold accusation. The conversations took place; they just simply didn’t take place over a phone call. They happened in person,” Sanders said.

At the same press conference, Sanders also had to admit the president fabricated another phone call, this time with Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto. During a Monday cabinet meeting, Trump claimed “even the president of Mexico called me. They said their southern border — very few people are coming because they know they’re not going to get through our border, which is the ultimate compliment.” This caused a stir in Mexico when Nieto’s opposition raised concerns the president was having secret phone conversations with Trump. Sanders clarified by saying Trump was referencing a conversation they had at the G-20 summit in Germany last month.