A Kentucky high school senior and class valedictorian threw the audience a curve ball during his graduation speech Saturday in Bell County.
Ben Bowling, 18, wanting to share some tidbits of wisdom with his graduating class at Bell County High School in Pineville, Kentucky, repeated a quote he found on the internet.
“This is the part of my speech where I share some inspirational quotes I found on Google, Bowling said during his speech, according to recordings of the speech on social media. “’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,” he said.
The crowd applauded wildly, then fell silent when Bowling said, “Just kidding. That was Barack Obama.”
Bowling told the Courier Journal that he "didn't mean anything bad by it" and thought it was a good message.
"I just thought it was a really good quote," he said. "Most people wouldn't like it if I used it, so I thought I'd use Donald Trump's name. It is southeastern Kentucky after all," he said to the Journal.
Bell County, in coal country, is near the Tennessee border and voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016.
Luckily for Bowling he said he didn’t receive any backlash from the joke.
The New York Times reported he's planning to attend the University of Kentucky on a full scholarship.
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