Trump cozies up to 'Moms for Liberty' even as they bomb on the ballot amid voter backlash

>>> >>> I AM PROUD TO HAVE LAID OUT BY FAR THE MOST AGGRESSIVE, MOST VISIONARY PLAN TO LIBERATE OUR CHILDREN FROM THE MARXIST LUNATICS AND PERVERTS WHO HAVE INVESTED OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. THEY ARE PERVERTS. >> [ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] >> THAT WAS DONALD TRUMP'S MESSAGE LAST YEAR AT THE SUMMIT OF THE FAR RIGHT POLITICAL GROUP, MOMS FOR LIBERTY. EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW MOMS FOR LIBERTY BY NAME, YOU ARE PROBABLY STILL FAMILIAR WITH THEIR WORK. THE GROUP GOT THEIR START PROTESTING AGAINST MASK AND VACCINE REQUIREMENTS IN SCHOOLS. AND HAVE SINCE TRANSITIONED THEIR MISSION TO BANNING BOOKS FROM SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND CLASSROOMS, FIGHTING FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS, AND TRYING TO GET LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS THEY DON'T SEE AS CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH VOTED OUT OF OFFICE. THE GROUPS TACTICS AND IDEOLOGY ARE SO AGGRESSIVE THAT LAST YEAR, THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER LABELED MOMS FOR LIBERTY AN EXTREMIST ORGANIZATION. TONIGHT, TRUMP WAS BACK AT THAT MOMS FOR LIBERTY SO-CALLED JOYFUL WARRIORS ANNUAL SUMMIT. IN D.C. THIS YEAR, THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY'RE CALLING A SPECIAL FIRESIDE CHAT WITH DONALD TRUMP. BUT GIVEN HOW EXTREME MOMS FOR LIBERTY IS, I ACTUALLY THINK IT IS AN OPEN QUESTION WHETHER TRUMP CONTINUING TO TIE HIMSELF TO THE GROUP IS A POLITICAL ASSET OR A LIABILITY. THIS WEEK, THE TAMPA BAY TIMES REPORTED THAT OF THE 14 CANDIDATES THAT MOMS FOR LIBERTY BACKED IN RECENT SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS, ONLY THREE WON. ANOTHER SIX LOST, AND FIVE ARE HEADED TO RUNOFFS IN NOVEMBER. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHERE THESE MOMS FOR LIBERTY BACKED CANDIDATES LOST, THE PICTURE IS STARKER. EVEN SARASOTA COUNTY, WHERE REPUBLICANS HOLD A 2-1 MAJORITY OVER DEMOCRATS, TWO MOMS FOR LIBERTY HOPEFULS LOST, AND THAT REFLECTS A NATIONAL TREND. LAST YEAR, ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FEWER THAN ONE THIRD OF THE SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES ENDORSED BY MOMS FOR LIBERTY WON THEIR ELECTIONS. BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER, SO WILL TRUMP'S CONTINUED CONNECTIONS TO MOMS FOR LIBERTY BE A POLITICAL ALBATROSS? JOINING ME NOW IS JENNIFER JENKINS, SHE HAS SERVED ON THE SCHOOL BOARD IN FLORIDA SINCE 2020, WHEN SHE DEFEATED AN INCUMBENT WHO WENT ON TO COFOUND MOMS FOR LIBERTY. SHE NOW CHAIRS EDUCATED WE STAND, AN ORGANIZATION THAT AIMS TO LIMIT THE INFLUENCE OF FAR RIGHT EXTREMISTS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION. JENNIFER, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO JOIN US TONIGHT. FULL DISCLOSURE, I HAVE A NINE- YEAR-OLD. I SAY SHE IS NINE, GOING ON 30. SHE IS A FOURTH GRADER IN PUBLIC SCHOOL IN FLORIDA, SO I HAVE A VERY, VERY INVESTED INTEREST IN WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. I HAVE TO ASK YOU, THOUGH, I OBVIOUSLY FOLLOW THESE RACES VERY CAREFULLY AND CLOSELY, AND THE NUMBER OF LOSSES THAT ARE BEING BACKED UP BY MOMS FOR LIBERTY BACKED CANDIDATES FOR SCHOOL BOARD RACES ESPECIALLY IS PRETTY REMARKABLE. >> IT IS REMARKABLE. YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE SEEN THIS FAR RIGHT EXTREMISM, NOT JUST IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, WE SEE IT IN ALL 50 STATES, THAT'S WHY I FELT TO ORGANIZE THE OPPOSITION WITH EDUCATED WE STAND. OUR GOAL IS TO ELECT PRO- EDUCATION CANDIDATES FOR A SCHOOL BOARD. BY DOING SO, WE ARE GOING TO SHOW HOW WE CAN FIGHT BACK IN STATES LIKE THAT THAT ARE TRENDING EXTREME. BECAUSE IF WE CAN WIN HERE IN FLORIDA, WE CAN WIN IN ALL 50 STATES. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID IN OUR RECENT ELECTION. 88 PERCENT OF OUR ENDORSED CANDIDATES WERE SUCCESSFUL ACROSS FLORIDA, AGAINST OPPONENTS WHO RAN FOR MOMS FOR LIBERTY AND RON DeSANTIS. AND ONE OF OUR CANDIDATES WHO YOU MENTIONED JUST BEFORE SUCCESSFULLY WON IN SARASOTA, A FOUNDING COUNTY FOR MOMS FOR LIBERTY. WHEN WE LET THE VOTERS KNOW WHO THE CANDIDATES ARE THAT SUPPORT EXTREMISM, THEY WILL LOSE, REGARDLESS OF THE POLITICAL MAKEUP OF THAT AREA. >> JENNIFER, FOR THOSE VIEWERS WHO ARE TUNING IN THAT MAYBE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW EXTREME WE ARE TALKING WHEN IT COMES TO MOMS FOR LIBERTY, A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, WHAT THEIR MISSION IS TO DO, AND WHY IT IS THE CASE THAT YOU THINK THE BACKLASH NOW HAS BEEN SO EXTREME IN RESPONSE TO WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. >> I HAVE, UNFORTUNATELY, LIVED IT PERSONALLY. &&V■AM A MOM, AN MARRIED TO MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER, AND AFTER I DEFEATED THE FOUNDER OF MOMS FOR LIBERTY IN MY RACE IN 2020, WE BECAME GROUND H AN IDEOLOGICAL TAKEOVER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION. MOMS FOR LIBERTY STARTED SHOWING UP TO MY SCHOOL BOARLG MEETINGS, THEY CAUSED CHAOS AND HABIT. IT STARTED WITH MASKS, AND THEN QUICKLY GREW INTO BIGOTRY AGAINST LGBTQ ñH#1P,.éñSTUDENTS STAFF. qTO CRITICIZING AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CURRICULUM. .Cny-2■wQ7Ti R'TIMS THAT IGNITED WITH PROTESTS IN FRONT OF MY HOME, VANDALISM OF ) MY PROPERTY, FOLLOWING ME AND MY FAMILY AROUND. IT HAS GOTTEN ABSOLUTELY, INCREDIBLY INSANE u TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOL BOARDS, AND UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAVE TAKEN OVER WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR LEGISLATURE IN TALLAHASSEE, AND IT HAS ALLOWED THIS EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY TO SEEP INTO THE LAWS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. >> AND LET'S BE CLEAR, JENNIFER, IT IS NOT JUST DONALD TRUMP, RON DeSANTIS IS A POLITICAL BEDFELLOW WITH MOMS FOR LIBERTY. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LATEST RACES. DeSANTIS ENDORSED 23 CANDIDATES, AND 11 LOST AND SIX ARE HEADED TO RUNOFFS IN NOVEMBER. SO, IT IS NOT JUST THE DONALD TRUMP ASSOCIATION AND THAT GUILT BY ASSOCIATION THAT SEEMS TO BE DOING DAMAGE. THE RON DeSANTIS FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, FAILED GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, ALSO HIS ENDORSEMENT SEEMS TO BE THE KISS OF DEATH IF YOU ARE RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE HERE IN FLORIDA. WHY IS IT THEN THAT YOU THINK THAT THERE HAS BEEN THIS GALVANIZED RESPONSE THAT THE CULTURE WARS THAT HAVE BEEN WAGED HERE, TALK ABOUT GROUND ZERO, IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, WHY THAT IS NOT HAPPENING ANYMORE AND WHY THIS COULD BE -- FLORIDA COULD BE THE STATE THAT SHOWS THE CULTURE WARS JUST DON'T WORK, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE UNITED STATES. >> I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT AS WE ARE HEARING ABOUT PROJECT 2025 HERE IN FLORIDA, IT FEELS LIKE WE HAVE CHOSEN TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION ON DOUBLETIME, BECAUSE WE ARE LIVING IT. FLORIDA REPUBLICANS ARE DOING EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO CONTINUOUSLY UNDERMINE VOTERS WHO REJECT THEIR EXTREMISM. THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE A PARTICIPATION TROPHY CASE OF PEOPLE DeSANTIS APPOINTS AFTER HIS SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES LOSE THEIR RACES. REPUBLICANS LIKE DeSANTIS AND TRUMP SHARE A COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR A GOVERNMENT THAT REFLECTS THE WILL OF IT CONSTITUENTS, AND THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO IMPOSE THEIR AGENDA, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE TELLING US WITH MOMS FOR LIBERTY WANTED THEY WANT TO DISMANTLE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. THEY WANT TO CUT TITLE ONE FUNDING AND END EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS LIKE HEAD START, AND END PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. SO, WHEN THEY TELL US WHO THEY ARE, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THEM. WE HAVE TO ORGANIZE AND WE HAVE TO VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE. >> JENNIFER, QUICKLY BEFORE I HAVE TO LET YOU GO, I WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND, YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL POLITICIAN. YOU'RE NOT SOMEBODY WHO SAID I'M GOING TO BE RUNNING FOR OFFICE FOR MY LIFE. YOU RAN FOR SCHOOL BOARD [ INAUDIBLE ] WITH WHAT WAS GOING ON AND HOW IT WAS IMPACTING YOU, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR CHILD'S EDUCATION. >> ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I SAID I AM A MOM, I MEANT AN EDUCATOR, MY HUSBAND IS A TEACHER. I WENT AND FOUGHT WITH MY FELLOW EDUCATORS, FIGHTING FOR FAIR WAGE INCREASES. I WAS MAKING $38,000 WITH A MASTERS DEGREE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND EVER SINCE RON DeSANTIS TOOK OFFICE, WE HAVE DROPPED TO 50th IN THE NATION FOR AVERAGE TEACHER PAY. I TRULY RAN BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT PUBLIC EDUCATION, I CARE ABOUT MY COLLEAGUES, MY STUDENTS, AND THE FUTURE OF MY OWN DAUGHTER WHO IS IN THIRD