PHILADELPHIA — Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are among a handful of GOP presidential hopefuls spending time in Philadelphia this weekend at a national summit hosted by Moms for Liberty.
The controversial political group started a little over two years ago in Florida, now there are hundreds of chapters and more than 120,000 members nationwide, and their ability to host a number of GOP hopefuls on the campaign trail shows their growing influence on Republican politics.
"2024 is gonna be the year when the parents across this country finally fight back," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
The Florida governor and presidential hopeful kicked off Friday’s summit by putting emphasis on education, highlighting some of the controversial reforms he’s championed in Florida.
Policies and laws like the Parental Rights in Education Act, expanding private school vouchers and his push to eliminate diversity, equity, inclusion, or DEI programs on college campuses.
“When woke ideology, overtakes education, our students become dumber,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis’ speech was followed by speeches from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump.
“We care about crime, we care about national security, we care about the border, moms care about everything that matters that affects their families,” Haley said.
"Don’t mess with America’s moms—I know exactly what they’re talking about, don’t mess. That’s a powerful group," Trump said.
Mom’s for Liberty’s rise from Florida to national political prominence largely mirrors that of the state’s governor. Though the group that now boasts six-figure membership was recently labeled an extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights watchdog group.
"Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement," the SPLC said. "The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans."
“For them to be called a hate group it underscores the lack of credibility of [SPLC], and how sad the radical left is because they continue to try to use this tactic, and it failed every single time,” Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Bridget Ziegler, who now serves on the Sarasota County School Board, said.
Other civil rights groups argue Moms For Liberty’s actions have been extreme.
"They're animated by trying to impose the values of a very small extreme faction of our communities on everybody else," Brandon Wolf with Equality Florida said. "I think it's pretty clear that Moms for Liberty and their agenda is wildly out of touch."
As their influence on Republican politics grows, candidates speaking at this week’s summit expect them to play a big role in 2024.
"What we've seen across this country in recent years has awakened the most powerful political force in this country. Mama bears, and they're ready to roll," DeSantis added.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy, also GOP hopefuls, are slated to speak on Saturday.