Former President Donald Trump did not make education or K-12 schools a priority in an on-stage conversation at the national summit of the Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents鈥� rights organization.
Trump answered questions from Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, during the organization鈥檚 annual Joyful Warriors Summit here on Aug. 30. 鈥攚hich lasted more than an hour鈥攊ncluded little discussion of education policy and focused more on Trump鈥檚 personal history as a star of reality television and immigration, an issue central to his campaign but not one that Moms for Liberty has focused on.
However, Trump affirmed his commitment to conservative parents鈥� rights policies and said that some school boards operate like 鈥渄ictatorships.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 for parental rights all the way,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭he parents truly love the kids. Some of these people on the boards, I think they don鈥檛 like the kids very much with what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
In one of his few direct mentions of education, Trump said students who are in the country illegally are 鈥渙verrunning鈥� classrooms and making them less safe.
鈥淵our schools and your children are suffering like crazy,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going into classrooms and they鈥檙e taking seats and they don鈥檛 even speak English.鈥�
In June, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives similarly blamed President Joe Biden鈥檚 policies on the U.S.-Mexico border for causing 鈥渃haos鈥� in schools. While some schools are experiencing strain due to an influx of migrant students, claims that they are taking resources away from students who are U.S. citizens are largely unfounded.
Trump suggests children go to school and come home with a different gender
Trump also criticized schools for allowing transgender students to play sports that align with their gender identity and suggested that schools are facilitating students鈥� gender transitions.
鈥淵our kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭he school decides what鈥檚 going to happen with your child.鈥�
There is no evidence that schools are involved with providing students with gender-affirming medical care, though some schools do have policies allowing educators to not disclose to parents when their child requests to go by another name or pronoun. (Earlier this summer, California became the first state to pass a law prohibiting schools from requiring educators to inform parents of students鈥� gender transitions.)
Trump has focused much of his 2024 campaign on immigration, foreign policy, and the economy, but he has dedicated some of his campaign messaging to K-12 schools. He has proposed eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, expanding universal private school choice to every state, cutting federal funding for any school teaching critical race theory, and allowing schools to elect principals.
Speech follows resurfacing of JD Vance鈥檚 comments about childless teachers
Earlier this week, Trump鈥檚 running mate, JD Vance, a senator from Ohio, came under fire for remarks he made during a 2021 forum at the Centre for Christian Virtue, criticizing American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten for not having children. were resurfaced by a liberal news site, Heartland Signal, then shared on social media by Harris鈥� campaign, NBC News reported.
鈥淩andi Weingarten, who is the head of the most powerful teachers union in the country, she doesn鈥檛 have a single child,鈥� Vance said. 鈥淚f she wants to brainwash the minds of our children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone.鈥�
After Vance鈥檚 comments resurfaced, Weingarten and released a statement saying that Vance 鈥渓acks an empathy gene.鈥�
鈥淭hat is exactly what educators, and children and their parents, don鈥檛 want,鈥� Weingarten said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want political attacks in our classrooms. They want us to be engaging and nurturing students, creating a safe and welcoming environment, particularly as the new school year begins.鈥�
Moms for Liberty works to expand political influence
Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents鈥� rights organization borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic, has worked to expand its political influence since it was founded in 2021. It has endorsed, funded, and campaigned for conservative school board candidates across the country; contested schools鈥� pandemic precautions; accused teachers of what it calls 鈥渨oke鈥� indoctrination in public schools; and advocated for the removal of books and learning materials from school libraries and classrooms, many about people of color and LGBTQ+ characters and themes.
In her speech opening the summit Friday, Justice accused Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former teacher, of allowing schools to teach students 鈥渨oke ideology鈥� and called on the group鈥檚 members to 鈥渇ight! fight! fight!鈥�
鈥淎 Walz-Harris presidency would make 2020 school shutdowns and parents being thrown out of school board meetings look like the warm-up act,鈥� Justice said. 鈥淲e are on the verge of a full-on federal assault on parental rights. This is not a drill.鈥�
Justice touted the organization鈥檚 involvement in one of several lawsuits against the Biden administration鈥檚 Title IX rewrite, which expanded protections against sex discrimination to include LGBTQ+ students and staff. A judge temporarily blocked the revised Title IX rule from taking effect in any school attended by students of Moms for Liberty chapter members, amounting to at least one chapter in nearly every state.
But while the organization has seen some success in its efforts to elect more conservative school board candidates鈥攁round half of the 270 Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidates won their elections in 2022鈥攊ts political efforts have also mobilized more liberal candidates to challengeMoms for Liberty-backed candidates in hotly contested elections.
Last week, several Florida school board candidates aligned with Moms for Liberty and Gov. Ron DeSantis lost in many of the races the organization endorsed, and .
When Justice asked Trump to offer advice to parents who might be considering running for public office鈥攁 key goal of Moms for Liberty鈥攖he former president said: 鈥淒on鈥檛 do it.鈥�
