Trump tries to ouflank DeSantis at activist event
Former President Donald Trump moved Friday to outflank Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida as they wrestled for conservative loyalties at a gathering of right-wing activists in Philadelphia, pushing a shared agenda of forcing the federal government to the right, restricting transgender rights and limiting how race and LGBTQ issues are taught.
Speaking hours after DeSantis' address, Trump aimed to one-up his top rival by vowing to target federal diversity programs and to wield the power of the Justice Department against schools and corporations that are supposedly engaged in “unlawful racial discrimination.”
Trump said that, to “rigorously enforce” the Supreme Court's ruling a day earlier rejecting affirmative action at the nation's colleges and universities, he would “eliminate all diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the entire federal government.”
He said he would direct the Justice Department “to pursue civil rights claims against any school, corporation or university that engages in unlawful racial discrimination.”
A representative for Trump declined to directly answer a question about which races the former president thought were being subjected to discrimination.
Since entering the race just over a month ago, DeSantis has repeatedly sought to position himself to the right of Trump, hitting his record on crime, the coronavirus and immigration. Nevertheless, the former president leads DeSantis by a wide margin in the polls.
The rare convergence of the two leading Republicans on the campaign trail came at a convention of the newest powerhouse in social conservative politics, Moms for Liberty, which began as a small group of far-right suburban mothers but has quickly gained national influence.
A third presidential contender, Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, also spoke Friday, with two others, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson, slated to appear today.
DeSantis went first, headlining the opening breakfast event in a nod to the group's founding in his home state in 2021. Its national rise — it says it now has 275 chapters in 45 states — has coincided with the Florida governor's ascension in right-wing circles as he has pushed legislation to restrict discussions of so-called critical race theory, sexuality and gender in public schools.
“What we've seen across this country in recent years has awakened the most powerful political force in this country: mama bears,” DeSantis told the crowd of hundreds, to roars of applause.