Kentucky crowd cheers for valedictorian's Trump quote, gets quiet when he reveals Obama actually said it

The Obamas and Trumps.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

As Mark Twain once famously said, you can't believe everything you read on the internet, and it seems you also need to start questioning quotes you hear in graduation speeches.

At the Bell County High School commencement this weekend in Pineville, Kentucky, valedictorian Ben Bowling, 18, pulled a bait-and-switch, telling the audience: "This is the part of my speech where I share some inspirational quotes I found on Google. '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."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.