Glen Jean, West Virginia: US President Donald Trump looked out on Monday evening at the sea of Boy Scouts who were gathered in a remote field, far away from the travails of the capital, and declared that he would not talk about politics.

"Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I'm in front of the Boy Scouts?" he asked.

It turned out he did, at least a little.

Amid standard testimonials to hard work and American values, Trump launched into a speech to the scouts replete with classic Trumpian jabs at opponents and the "fake media". He harked back to his "incredible" election and jokingly told his health secretary that if he failed to deliver enough votes in Tuesday's health care vote, "you're fired".

With an estimated 40,000 scouts, volunteers and others on hand, it was certainly the largest crowd Trump had seen since his inauguration, and a highly supportive one. As anyone who followed last year's election knows, Trump is no boy scout - but he boasted that 10 members of his cabinet were, including some he brought with him.

"By the way, just a question," Trump said mischievously. "Did president Obama ever come to a jamboree?"

He knew the answer was no. While Obama, like every president since the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910, served as its honorary president, he never came to the jamboree, which is held once every four years, because of policies barring gay scouts and scoutmasters.

Those policies have since changed, and Trump enjoyed ribbing Obama. He also needled Hillary Clinton, recalling the time he spent with voters in Michigan during last year's campaign while she did not.

It paid off on election night, he pointed out, despite pundits and pollsters. "Do you remember that incredible night with the maps?" he said. "And that map was so red it was unbelievable and they didn't know what to say."

He also trumpeted the economy and leaned on West Virginia's Republican senator Shelley Moore Capito to vote to open debate on repealing Obama's health care law. And he said that "under the Trump administration, you'll be saying Merry Christmas again when you go shopping".

As the script called for, Trump offered the advice that speakers traditionally offer: Work hard, do what you love, never give up.

"Just like you know you can count on me, we know we can count on you, because we know the values that you live by," he said. "Your values are the same values that have always kept America strong, proud and free."

New York Times