Trump seeks to activate his base at Moms for Liberty gathering but risks alienating moderate voters

Former President Donald Trump raises a fist in greeting as he exits from his private jet at the Atlanta airport.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport ahead of the first Presidential Debate on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

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.

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.