2 weeks Ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to appear Friday at the annual gathering of Moms for Liberty, a national nonprofit that has spearheaded efforts to get mentions of LGBTQ+ identity and structural racism out of K-12 classrooms. In a "fireside chat" conversation in the nation's capital, the former president will seek to shore up support and enthusiasm among a major part of his base. The bulk of the group's 130,000-plus members are conservatives who agree with him that parents should have more say in public education and that racial equity programs and transgender accommodations don't belong in schools.
WATCH: Trump faces criticism for visit to Arlington and incident with cemetery official Yet Trump also will run the risk of alienating more moderate voters, many of whom see Moms for Liberty's activism as too extreme to be legitimized by a presidential nominee. A year ago, Moms for Liberty was viewed by many as a rising power player in conservative politics that could be pivotal in supporting the Republican ticket. The group's membership had skyrocketed after its launch in 2021, fueled by parents protesting mandatory masking for students and remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in the last several months, a series of embarrassing scandals and underwhelming performances during local elections have called Moms for Liberty's influence into question. The group also has voiced support for Project 2025, a detailed and controversial playbook for the next conservative presidency from which Trump has repeatedly distanced..
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