Washington.- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday lamented the growing acceptance of transgender Americans during his speech at the annual meeting of Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit organization that has led efforts to remove mentions of LGBTQ+ identity and structural racism from primary and secondary school classrooms.
Trump said trans women should not be able to compete in women’s sports and suggested access to gender-affirming health care should be restricted. But during his hour-long speech in Washington, he largely focused on his favorite topics: criticizing President Joe Biden, decrying illegal immigration and recalling his parents’ marriage, his path to becoming a reality TV star on “The Apprentice” and the debate that ended Biden’s reelection campaign.
“Our country is being poisoned. And your schools and your children are suffering greatly because they are coming into the classrooms and getting diseases, and they don’t even speak English,” Trump said of migrants crossing the border illegally. “It’s crazy.”
Trump said school boards have become “like dictatorships” hostile to parents’ wishes, echoing conservative frustration that simmered at meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am all for parental rights. I don’t even understand the concept of not being parental,” Trump said.
“Parents really love their children… Parents’ rights must be returned,” he added.
Trump entered the ballroom of the Washington hotel where the rally was being held as he usually does at his rallies: standing and drawing applause and chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump” throughout Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Seated onstage alongside Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, he shared some of his favorite stories from his campaign rallies, moving from topic to topic in a style that has become familiar to his supporters.
The former president sought to shore up support and enthusiasm from a significant portion of his base. The vast majority of Moms for Liberty’s more than 130,000 members are conservatives who agree with him that parents should have a greater say in public education and that racial equality programs and accommodations for trans people have no place in schools.
But Trump also risks alienating some moderate voters, many of whom view Moms for Liberty’s activism as too extreme to be legitimized by a presidential candidate.
A year ago, Moms for Liberty was seen by many as an emerging force in conservative politics that could be crucial to supporting the Republican nomination. The group’s membership surged after its launch in 2021, fueled by parents protesting mandatory mask-wearing for students and online classes during the coronavirus pandemic.
But in recent months, a series of embarrassing scandals and disappointing performances during local elections have called into question the group’s influence.
Moms for Liberty has also made public its support for Project 2025, a detailed and controversial plan for the next conservative presidency that Trump has repeatedly tried to distance himself from.
#Trump #questions #acceptance #trans #people