Kentucky Crowd Cheers Valedictorian's Trump Quote, Then Learns Obama Said It

[Norbert]

Wisdom comes from the unlikeliest places. And on Saturday, Ben Bowling, the valedictorian of Bell County High School in Pineville, Ky., made an inspirational appeal that left his graduating classmates and their parents dumbstruck.

“This is the part of my speech where I share some inspirational quotes I found on Google,” he told the packed auditorium. “‘Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table’ — Donald J. Trump.”

The crowd burst into applause. President Trump is quite popular in Pineville and the surrounding area, which is the heart of coal country and overwhelmingly supported the president in the 2016 election after he promised to bring coal jobs back to America.

Mr. Bowling, though, wasn’t finished.

“Just kidding,” he said. “That was Barack Obama.”

The cheering abruptly stopped. The crowd went mostly silent. There was a lone boo.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/graduate-quotes-trump-obama.html?fbclid=IwAR2ak6Sq_RfpGlIsv_abnLPArVa_nt08VZN9zlu-snnPYrPvXgijLLYjpxA

[MustLoveBeagles]

1. Ouch. That had to hurt

[AllTooEasy]

21. We all should do that, recite an Obama quote...

...to a Trumper, initially attribute the quote to Trump,
and then tell them the truth when their smile can’t get any bigger.

Absolutely Free Fun. Make it “A Thing”.

[MustLoveBeagles]

25. +1

[JHB]

43. I dunno. That sounds like a recipe for Trump getting credit for Obama's lines

Don't be so sure they won't declare you "FAKE" and lovingly keep the attribution to Trump.

[procon]

2. There's a fearless young man on his way up. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

68. Moving up and OUT, no doubt, to college and beyond. . . . nt

[gratuitous]

3. Another Bowling Green massacre

Someone alert Kellyanne.

This nincompoop crowd actually thought Trump exhorted people to get involved?

[underpants]

13. 🕯

[Ohioboy]

18. Oh the terrible things we never saw as survivors

[Scurrilous]

4. LOL

He definitely went out on top.

[Initech]

5. This is the best story I've heard all week!

[Texasgal]

6. LOVE THIS!!!!!

F'ing idiots!

PWNED!!!

[TNNurse]

7. Get out of there, kid and never go back.

[CentralMass]

11. +1

[Afromania]

51. I'm guessing that's the plan:)

[riverine]

8. Unfortunately this is a very sad story.

The brightest student understood the noble presidency of Barack Obama.

The student body seems to be Trump know-nothing types.

KY may be doomed.

[Buckeyeblue]

62. KY is doomed. It's a beautiful state full of ugly people.

[KentuckyWoman]

9. I believe it

My hometown is in the same general area. Good on this kid. He has a bright future. ..somewhere else.

[Ligyron]

27. Bwahaha!

...somewhere else.

Funny!

[True Blue American]

38. We have a Bowling Green too.

Bowling Green University. Right here in Ohiotucky.

[KentuckyWoman]

70. My Neices graduated from BGSU

I will say everyone I've met through their schooling is fairly progressive. Gives me hope

[True Blue American]

71. Guess she

Never met my brother! Minister and CPA!

[get the red out]

54. Agree!

I am from an eastern Kentucky town also (Paintsville) and he would be much better off not letting the door hit him in the backside on the way out of Pineville. Lord I hope he can get at least as far as Lexington or Louisville!

[zipplewrath]

10. They are particularly susceptible to that

The trump humpers can easily be tricked like that. Although I'd be less than surprised if the reverse couldn't succeed occasionally as well.

[barbtries]

24. what would the quote be?

trump isn't known for his deep inspirational thinking.

[sop]

46. At least George W. Bush tried, but he always mangled the syntax

Trump's thoughts are all ugly, nothing that anyone would want to record for posterity.

[MineralMan]

52. "Grab 'em by the pussy."

That's Trump's quote.

[barbtries]

58. that's the one. nt

[GeoWilliam750]

12. From last year

[shanti]

33. Right

It did sound familiar.

[Tanuki]

14. Kentuckians also liked Kynect, their ACA healthcare exchange, as long as

it wasn't called Obamacare.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/2014/5/12/5709866/kentuckians-only-hate-obamacare-if-you-call-it-obamacare

[AlexSFCA]

32. IMO, dems totally failed at marketing of ACA until 2018

It is inconceivable that so many trumpers using ACA didnt know it’s aka Obamacare.

[True Blue American]

39. The name was

Tacked on to the ACA as an insult, along with,” You can keep your Doctor.”

[paleotn]

60. I guess some Dems expect a certain level of intelligence out there....

that simply doesn't exist. We're just not good at bumper sticker, catchy crap.

[AlexSFCA]

69. and we need to be; we can't win without braindead voters

[pangaia]

15. Morons like that actually shouldn't be allowed to vote.... until they learn something.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. Just brilliant. Why did I have to sit for hours

To hear luke warm mush?

[progressoid]

17. 2018

[NoMoreRepugs]

19. Goobers gotta be goobers.

[RainCaster]

20. Isn't this the state that gave us McTurtle?

[lunasun]

22. Valedictorian smart kid probably knows he's outta there soon and ain't coming back

Trolls the dumbasses a little while he’s got the mike

[mountain grammy]

23. Good on you, Ben Bowling!

[Wounded Bear]

26. The wisdom of youth...

You'd think he'd get a better scholarship than UK, though.

[sl8]

28. Video clip:

Valedictorian quotes Trump, then reveals it was Obama

USA TODAY
Published on Jun 4, 2018

Ben Bowling had some words of wisdom for his fellow grads, but there was a twist no one saw coming.

[...]

[thesquanderer]

42. Video shows the NYT writer mischaracterized it.

She said, "The cheering abruptly stopped. The crowd went mostly silent. There was a lone boo." I heard the lone boo. I heard cheering shift to some different people. I heard a bunch of laughter. I did not hear mostly silence.

[Hoyt]

29. Perfect. Slap ignorant white wingers right in the face.

[LiberalFighter]

30. They don't make the ground low enough for Trump supporters

to drag their knuckles in Kentucky.

[lpbk2713]

31. Crickets ...

BWAHAHAHA

[YOHABLO]

34. It's not within Trump's DNA to ever come up with a 'quote' like that one.

[dalton99a]

35. Good one

[PatrickforO]

36. How fun!

Good for Ben.

[PatrickforO]

37. A few years ago, someone read the Declaration of Independence

aloud without saying what it was, and it got people all freaked out.

Then the Tea Party sort of co-opted it.

I miss Obama.

[irisblue]

64. NPR reads the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 8am eastern time

RW & magats go crazy last couple of years.

Funny in a sick sad ignorant way

[YOHABLO]

66. Probably better to read the Mueller Report.

[Cha]

40. I read it last year on DU when it first

came out in June.

Bears repeating, though!

[salin]

44. Thanks - I was thinking...I know I have read this before... and not recently.

Even the "in Kentucky" seemed familiar.

It is good to retell this (and future) graduation seasons.

[Pepsidog]

45. Brilliant! He led the lemmings to the cliff and let them fall on their stupid faces.

[Dustlawyer]

47. He will have the last laugh at the class reunions!

[RAB910]

48. It is truly disturbing how right wing media and the GOP has brain washed so many people

The right and the GOP are the biggest threat our nation has ever faced. They are destroying our nation from within

[ooky]

49. The halo effect is alive and well.

[LisaM]

50. This is from 2018.

I thought it sounded familiar.....I was wondering if the same thing happened two years in a row!

[cwydro]

59. Thanks, I wondered too.

It sounded very familiar.

[saidsimplesimon]

53. My grandmother's place

was just down the road from the high school. That was a brave soul speaking up in deep coal country, and bias.

Where are those jobs he promised?

My grandfather and father both died from coal caused lung cancer. YET, they cheer for the "man".

[Ginger42]

55. The real quote:

“Don’t get involved. Fighting for your seat at the table is for losers. Better yet, let Putin fight to get you a seat at the head of the table. The big, big table. So big, this table, so uuuge. Nobody has a bigger table. The Mexicans built it and they’re going to pay for it.” — Donald J. Trump.

There, FIFY

[Honeycombe8]

56. That's great! But if those kids weren't so stupid, they would have known it wasn't by Trump.

Trump doesn't speak that way. Not by a long shot.

He would have said..."I always sit at the head of the table. In fact, where I sit, THAT'S the head of the table. People always tell me, wherever you sit, Mr. Trump, that's the head of the table. It can be round or square or triangle. Doesn't matta! Wherever I am, that's it! That's the head of the table!"

Rambling...excessive use of the pronoun "I"...narcissistic fixation on self...ascribing praise by others that has never occurred...includes irrelevant information like the shape of the table...no cohesive thought beyond "It's all about me."

[Turin_C3PO]

57. Lol yup that pretty much sums it/him up.

Narcissist to the extreme.

[DFW]

61. Back in 1970.......

Members of my class would go around with excerpt from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and asked people to sign them if they agreed. Plenty of people told them they would never sign off on any of that "communist propaganda."

And that was in Massachusetts! I heard there similar reactions around the country.

It's often the messenger that counts, not the message. That is the secret of Fox Noise. Too many people will believe lies from loudmouthed guys with glowing ties and big busted blondes before they will believe the truth from a tall gawky lesbian genius.

"Beware" doesn't even begin to describe it.

[DrToast]

63. Awesome....wish they had video of this.

[Pachamama]

65. See reply #28

[DrToast]

67. .

[Takket]

72. People hate being confronted with the truth