Trump and DeSantis Engage Moms for Liberty, Indicating the Group’s Ascending GOP Influence

Republican presidential nomination frontrunners Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis connected with conservative women at the Moms for Liberty conference in Philadelphia this past Friday. This action highlights the rapidly growing sway of the group within the GOP. The group has been particularly noted for its fervent objection to teaching topics related to race and gender identity in U.S. schools.

Both former President Trump and Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis seemed keen to outdo each other as they labelled gender-affirming care as “mutilation” and touted their attempts to banish critical race theory. DeSantis pledged to “combat wokeness”, while Trump fervently criticized what he termed as the “damaging venom of gender ideology” and the “twisted doctrine of woke communism.”

The strikingly fierce rhetoric appealed to the GOP’s most active faction, as proven by the warm response they received. However, such language could potentially deter more moderate voters in a general election.

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Founded in Florida in 2021 with a mission to oppose local COVID school mask mandates and quarantine rules, Moms for Liberty has swiftly emerged as a powerful force in conservative politics. However, it has been criticized for purportedly promoting hate. The Southern Poverty Law Center recently tagged it an “extremist” organization for allegedly harassing community members, disseminating anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation, and seeking to eliminate diverse and inclusive content from curricula.

Despite the controversy, the conference, held at a downtown hotel, still attracted numerous leading Republican presidential candidates.

DeSantis lauded the group for “resisting attacks from the left,” and took it as “a sign that we are winning this battle.” He enumerated his initiatives in Florida to prohibit discussions of race and sexual identity in classrooms and to ban certain books from school libraries. As president, he vowed to “fight wokeness.”

He spoke of the rise of “Mama bears,” or politically active mothers, as “the most powerful political force in the country,” and projected them to be a pivotal political entity in the 2024 elections.

In his address, Trump also charged the “radical left” with “smearing Moms for Liberty as a supposed hate group. “Moms for Liberty is no hate group,” he asserted. “You are joyful warriors, you are fierce patriots. You’re not a menace to America.”

He promised that, if re-elected, he would sign an executive order to slash federal funding for any school advocating critical race theory, transgender ideology, or any inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content. He suggested that school principals should be directly elected — and fired — by parents.

Like DeSantis, he voiced strong criticism of gender-affirming care, pledging to order federal agencies “to halt the promotion of sex or gender transition at any age.” He proposed that healthcare providers offering gender-affirming care for minors should be considered in breach of federal health and safety standards, lose federal funding, and called for a nationwide ban.

Post-speech, Trump visited Pat’s King of Steaks, a famous Philadelphia eatery, to interact with fans and sign autographs.

The large number of GOP hopefuls attending the event demonstrates the clout of Moms for Liberty. The group has forged

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More about GOP influence

• Trump and DeSantis court Moms for Liberty in a sign of the group’s rising influence over the GOP
• Southern Poverty Law Center labels Moms for Liberty an “extremist” organization
• Moms for Liberty: A Major Player in Conservative Politics
• DeSantis and Trump at the Moms for Liberty Conference
• Moms for Liberty: Growing Influence and Controversy