PHILADELPHIA ā The two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination courted conservative women at the Moms for Liberty conference in Philadelphia on Friday, elevating a group that has gained substantial influence within the GOP with its fierce opposition to instruction related to race and gender identity in the nationās classrooms.
Both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared eager to out-flank the other as they labeled gender-affirming care āmutilation" and talked up their efforts to eliminate critical race theory. DeSantis vowed to āfight the woke," while Trump blasted what he called āthe toxic poison of gender ideology" and āsick creed of woke communism.ā
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While the graphic rhetoric resonates with the most active part of the GOP base, as evidenced by the enthusiastic reception both received, it could turn off more moderate voters in a general election.
The group, which was founded in Florida in 2021 to fight local COVID school mask mandates and quarantine requirements, has quickly become a force in conservative politics. But it has also been accused of preaching hate, with the Southern Poverty Law Center recently labeling it an āextremistā organization for allegedly harassing community members, advancing anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and fighting to scrub diverse and inclusive material from lesson plans.
The conference, being held at a downtown hotel, nonetheless drew a handful of leading Republican presidential candidates.
DeSantis praised the group for ācoming under attack by the left," saying it was āa sign that we are winning this fight.ā He ran through his efforts in Florida to ban discussions of race and sexual identity in classrooms as well as certain books from school libraries. And he pledged to āfight the woke" as president.
āI think what weāve seen across this country in recent years has awakened the most powerful political force in the country: Mama bears. And theyāre ready to roll," he said, predicting moms would be āthe key political force for this 2024 cycle.ā
ā2024 is going to be the year when the parents across the country finally fight back," he said.
Trump, too, accused the āradical leftā of āslandering Moms for Liberty as a so-called hate group.
āBut Moms for Liberty is no hate group,ā he said. āYou are joyful warriors, you are fierce, fierce patriots. Youāre not a threat to America."
Trump told them that if he wins a second term he would sign an executive order to cut federal funding for any school āpushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children." He called for the direct election ā and firing ā of school principals by parents.
Like DeSantis, he was deeply critical of gender-affirming care. He vowed to sign an executive order instructing federal agencies āto cease the promotion of sex or gender transition at any age." He said hospitals and health care providers who provide gender-affirming care for minors should be deemed in violation of federal health and safety standards and lose federal funding, and said he would call on Congress to ban it in all 50 states.
After his speech, Trump made a stop at Patās King of Steaks, a local Philadelphia institution, where he posed for photos and signed autographs for fans.
The high interest in the event among GOP hopefuls underscores the influence of Moms for Liberty, which has made connections with powerful GOP organizations, politicians and donors to become a major political player. The group says it doesnāt plan to endorse any presidential candidate in 2024.
Moms for Liberty has transformed from three Florida moms opposing COVID-19 mandates in 2021 to claiming 285 chapters across 45 states. Along the way, it has found a close ally in DeSantis, who was presented with a āliberty swordā at the group's first annual meeting last year and has signed multiple bills that it supported.
Beyond remarks from the candidates and other speakers, the summit features strategy sessions on such topics as āprotecting kids from gender ideologyā and ācomprehensive sex education: sex ed or sexualization.ā
Summit attendees said they liked what they were hearing so far.
āI love Moms for Liberty,ā said Debbie McGinley, who is running for the school board in Methacton School District outside Philadelphia. As a parent of three kids who lost her business as a hairdresser during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she appreciated that the group is āfighting for our kids.ā
Lucy Reyna, a treasurer for a Moms for Liberty chapter in Indiana, said she traveled to the conference to learn more about the national organization.
āWhat am I a part of? I need to know those things,ā Reyna said, adding that if the group leaned too partisan in one direction, it would make her reconsider her participation.
Outside, roughly 200 parent activists and LGBTQ+ advocates gathered to protest, citing the group's āextremistā designation from the SPLC. They chanted, āNot in our cityā and āLet's say gay" while holding signs that read, āHate is not patrioticā and āPhilly is the LGBTQest city.ā
Some protesters said specific incidents prompted their activism, including an Indiana Moms for Liberty chapter publishing an Adolf Hitler quote in its newsletter before apologizing and removing it, and a Tennessee chapter complaining about lessons on Black civil rights figures Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges.
āI think they stand for fear. And that turns into hate very quickly,ā said Molly Roses, a Philadelphia resident who joined the protest.
In the days before the conference, several historical associations, state senators, activists and employees at Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution had pleaded unsuccessfully with the museum to cancel a welcome event for the conference Thursday night. The event went on as planned.
The museum told The Associated Press that ābecause fostering understanding within a democratic society is so central to our mission, rejecting visitors on the basis of ideology would in fact be antithetical to our purpose.ā
In her remarks, Moms for Liberty National Director of Engagement Tia Bess rejected claims that the group is racist.
āDo I look like a racist to y'all?ā Bess, who is Black, told an overwhelmingly white audience.
Tiffany Justice, one of the group's co-founders, responded sarcastically to the SPLC's āextremistā label onstage Friday, referring to herself as āthe face of domestic terrorism, apparently.ā
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, another GOP candidate who appeared Friday, said that, āWhen they mentioned that this was a terrorist organization ... I said well then count me as a Mom for Liberty."
Though Moms for Liberty says it is nonpartisan, it has overwhelmingly drawn conservative support. The group also has fought to elect conservative candidates to school boards around the country.
While the groupās status as a 501(c)4 nonprofit means it doesnāt have to disclose its funders, its public donors include conservative powerhouses such as the Heritage Foundation and the Leadership Institute, a national political training organization.
Patriot Mobile, a far-right Christian cellphone company that paid to sponsor Trumpās remarks at the conference, has a political action committee that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to take charge of Texas school boards.
Mom for Libertyās Florida-based PAC also has received a $50,000 donation from Julie Fancelli, a Republican donor whose family owns Publix grocery stores and who helped fund Trumpās Jan. 6 āStop the Stealā rally, according to House Jan. 6 committee findings. Fancelli didnāt respond to a request for comment.
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and video journalist David R. Martin in Philadelphia contributed reporting.
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