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

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 5 June 2018

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."

President Trump is popular in this part of Kentucky, and the crowd cheered when they heard his name. Then, Bowling dropped a truth bomb. "I'm kidding," he said. "That was Barack Obama." The hoots and hollers died down, a few people laughed, and someone let out a low boo. Bowling told the Louisville Courier Journal that he heard the quote in Obama's May 2012 commencement speech delivered at Barnard College, and while he thought it was a nice sentiment, he knew how the crowd would react. "Most people wouldn't like it if I used it," he said. "So I thought I'd use Donald Trump's name. It is southeastern Kentucky after all." Catherine Garcia

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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.

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