Right-wing pundits lash out at Boy Scouts over rebranding to “Scouting America”

Tony Perkins, president of Project 2025 partner Family Research Council: “They began to open the ranks up to openly homosexual boys in leaders, and so here's where we are today. … They have yielded to the woke crowd."

Following an announced rebrand of Boy Scouts of America to “Scouting America,” right-wing pundits and outlets used the name change as a thinly veiled pretext to push anti-LGBTQ messaging.

Though the stated purpose of the organization’s rebrand is to reflect “the continuing efforts to welcome everyone to experience the benefits of Scouting … as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs,” reactionary influencers are attempting to deride the organization as the “Trans Scouts,” and claiming it is promoting “woke gender ideology.”

Fox’s Sean Hannity: “Go woke, go broke. The Boy Scouts, we can pretty much declare, are dead as of tonight, an extinct group. It's over, after however many years.” [Fox News, Hannity, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024 edition of Fox News' Hannity

Newsmax’s Eric Bolling: “The Boy Scouts of America have now changed their name to Scouting America because they want to be more inclusive, more woke. And if you want to talk about influencing young minds, that starts as Cub Scouts at, like, five, six, seven years old.” [Newsmax, Eric Bolling: The Balance, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Eric Bolling: The Balance

Newsmax guest and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins: “They began to open the ranks up to openly homosexual boys in leaders, and so here's where we are today … they have yielded to the woke crowd, and they have compromised on their moral core.” Family Research Council is on the advisory board of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a comprehensive transition plan organized by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to guide the next GOP presidential administration. [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 5/8/24; Media Matters, 4/9/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports

Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt: “The Boy Scouts going woke, changing their name after 114 years to Scouting America, removing any gender reference to be more inclusive. Oh, God.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight

Fox's Greg Gutfeld: “The woke can stop pouting, they took the boy out of scouting. ... Now scouts can earn merit badges in hairstyling for drag queens, and proper pronoun etiquette.” [Fox News, Gutfeld!, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Fox News' Gutfeld!

On The Story with Martha MacCallum, Rubin Report host Dave Rubin argued, “Those kids who were learning good skills as part of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, they become the protesters who are wearing masks and calling for genocide and trying to burn down Columbia, UCLA, University of Chicago.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum

Fox & Friends co-host Will Cain: “The Boy Scouts are dead … It is the death of the Boy Scouts. Hey, we do need spaces. It’s not bigoted to say some spaces are for boys, some spaces are for girls.” [Mediaite, 5/8/24]

Ben Shapiro claimed that the Boy Scouts organization has been “completely hollowed out and destroyed” and that the next step is not that its membership will be replaced “by San Francisco trans kids,” but that “the next step is that the organization just doesn't exist.” [The Daily Wire, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Daily Wire's The Ben Shapiro Show

Outnumbered guest Lee Zeldin: “Go woke, go broke, and the Boy Scouts of America have chosen to go woke and they are being broken.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Fox News' Outnumbered

Fox Corp.’s Clay Travis: “This is ridiculous, I think, to try to strip away gender from the Boy Scouts. ... The idea of trying to force these gender issues on young children, I think, is a failure of American society and frankly Western civilization right now.” [Fox Business, Varney & Co., 5/8/24]

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Citation From the May 8, 2024, edition of Fox Business' Varney & Company

Newsmax host Chris Plante: “It's the left, and once again, it's gender, and once again, it's children. And as is so often the case, it's boys being targeted.” [Newsmax, Chris Plante The Right Squad, 5/7/24]

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Citation From the May 7, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Chris Plante The Right Squad

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham posted: “Talk about losing your way—that’s the @BoyScouts. They want to be more ‘inclusive,’ so they’re changing their name. Being woke isn’t the need—staying focused & true to what God calls you to do is what’s important. They should’ve just stuck with what they were founded to be 114 years ago. The Boy Scouts Oath says, ‘I will do my best to do my duty to God…’ It’s no surprise that thousands of parents are choosing other options like @TrailLifeUSA which is a great Christ-centered alternative.” [Twitter/X, 5/8/24]

The Daily Wire host Michael Knowles posted: “Do you plan on letting your boys join the Trans Scouts?” [Twitter, 5/7/24]

Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik posted: “Everything woke turns to shit. Please block me now @boyscouts. You’re blocking everyone and I feel left out 😢” [Twitter, 5/7/24]

Gays Against Groomers’ X (formerly Twitter) account posted: “We’re very disappointed to see Boy Scouts of America succumb to pressures of woke gender ideology by rebranding as 'Scouting America.’ This isn’t inclusivity, this is the destabilization of children’s identities. It is blatant denial of the natural difference between boys and girls. Boys deserve their own spaces just as much as girls do, not blurred lines. Sad and disheartening to witness.” [Twitter, 5/7/24]