Bill Maher slams woke name change of Boy Scouts, says it's 'the kind of thing that gets Trump elected’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian Bill Maher attacked the renowned organization formerly known as The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for changing its name to a more gender-neutral 'Scouting America' during a panel discussion on the Friday, February 14 episode of his show 'Real Time.'

According to Fox News, the shift to being more inclusive came after girls were allowed to join the program from 2018 onwards. The organization had previously welcomed gay youth into its fold in 2013 and discontinued the ban on gay adult leaders in 2015.

Bill Maher argues against gender neutrality in Scouts

Bill Maher insisted that the renaming of BSA was the sort of thing that swayed public opinion in favor of the conservatives and helped Donald Trump secure the White House for a second term.

"It’s such an Onion headline. The whole f*****g country is such an Onion headline," he declared while reading the news. "The Boy Scouts of America cannot be called Boy Scouts anymore because it's exclusionary. Like there isn't a Girl Scouts? Like this is some kind of crime against nature. People are different."

"This is the kind of thing that gets Trump elected," he later added. "I've said it a million times here. Democrats, you lost a crazy contest to a crazy person."

Former Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan sided with Maher on the subject, questioning, "What kind of structure, what kind of discipline, what kind of education" benefits boys? He claimed Boy Scouts have to work on projects that are "really difficult."

"They have to achieve. They have to put forth effort. They have to overcome failure. That's part of maturing and becoming a full functioning adult," he continued, claiming that the name change would result in those projects will be discontinued.

"To say this is targeted toward young boys because young boys are different than young girls and so the approach needs to be different."

While the panelists on 'Real Time' slammed the move, President and CEO of Scouting America Roger Krone reportedly told the Associated Press that the rebranding resulted in a small spike in membership, even after facing some initial backlash.

"The fact that we were going with a more kind of gender-neutral name, a lot of people kind of wanted to know more about it," he stated.

Conservatives side with Bill Maher

Netizens, especially conservatives, reacting to Bill Maher's comments on the social media platform X agreed with him on the subject. The following tweets demonstrate their takes.

"Exactly. Democrats - keep doing exactly what you've been doing. It's definitely a winning strategy... For us," wrote a user.

"Another example of woke culture gone mad, erasing traditional values to appease a tiny minority. The Boy Scouts have been a staple of American youth for over a century, teaching valuable skills and character. Scouting America is a soulless rebrand, stripping away the identity and heritage of the organization," shared another.

"They should leave the Boy Scouts alone. Boys and young men need this space to be boys and men," claimed a third.

"Boy Scouts got infected with the woke mind virus years ago. Pathetic," slammed a fourth.

"There can be nothing exclusively for boys or men. Leftist rules," jibed a fifth.

Another user called out Maher himself for his take, saying, "Can Bill just come out of the closet and say he is MAGA at this point……don’t be afraid @billmaher."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.