Trump, DeSantis, Haley make their 2024 pitch at the Moms for Liberty convention in Philadelphia

Former President Donald Trump said the nation is “teetering on the edge of tyranny” in a wide-ranging, often inaccurate address to adoring members of Moms for Liberty, whose controversial convention drew appearances from several GOP candidates.

“You’re not a threat to America, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to America,” Trump said on stage at the convention Friday evening. “Joe Biden and the Democrats are the threat to America. And together, we’re going to throw them out of office on Election Day 2024.”

Trump, appearing for his first time in Philadelphia since being indicted, called his prosecution “the greatest abuse of power in American history.”

He was the third GOP presidential candidate to speak in a lineup that included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. In between speeches, attendees went to sessions about sex education, “protecting parental rights,” and how to capture school board seats.

DeSantis’ speech was most in tune with the themes of the convention, Haley appealed to some educational topics but focused heavily on international issues, and Trump alternated between reading off a teleprompter and rambling tangents on a variety of topics.

The convention, which runs through Sunday, has already sparked ongoing protests in heavily Democratic Philadelphia. The Southern Poverty Law Center recently designated Moms for Liberty an “antigovernment extremist” group, saying its views are “conspiracy propagandist.” The political group, which claims 285 chapters in 45 states — including in the Philadelphia region — expected 650 attendees.

DeSantis congratulated the group for drawing protests: “That is a sign that we are winning this fight.”

Haley, the only woman running in the crowded field, argued for fresh leadership: “We’ve got a country to save. But if we want to save her, we have to have a new generational leader. We can’t look back.”

The outpouring of GOP presidential hopeful interest shows the impact of the self-described “parental rights” group — and the culture war issues that have become its focus — on the Republican Party.

Trump, whose motorcade passed protesters raising their middle fingers in the air and shouting “Lock him up!” outside the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, was welcomed warmly inside. Convention-goers wore “MAGA Moms” T-shirts and other Trump swag. While DeSantis has close ties to the group, it was clear the former president held significant appeal.

Trump railed against a “left-wing cultural revolution” he said is seeking “to enforce their sick creed of communism on every man, woman, and child.”

He promised to “liberate our children from the Marxist lunatics and perverts,” and said he would cut federal funding for “any school pushing critical race theory or transgenderism.”

Trump went off script and said he would “move our education system back to the states” — an apparent call for abolishing the federal Department of Education. Conservatives have pushed to scrap the department for years; Betsy DeVos, a former Trump education secretary, issued the same call at last year’s Moms for Liberty summit.

He also vowed to make school principals be elected by parents, a move that would be outside the purview of a president (or even a local superintendent).

On a day when several big rulings came down from the Supreme Court, he got loud applause as he reminded the audience he’d appointed three justices and “transformed the judiciary.”

Early polls consistently indicate Trump maintains a significant advantage over his Republican primary rivals for the 2024 election. According to recent polls Trump has widened his lead following his federal indictment on 37 counts of mishandling classified documents and trying to hide them from federal investigators.

» READ MORE: Protesters denounce start of Moms for Liberty summit in Philadelphia: ‘Hate has no place here’

DeSantis hit on many of the culture war talking points he’s framed his presidential campaign around. He railed against “woke ideology,” (he used the word “woke” 13 times in his 25-minute speech) and the teaching of “critical race theory,” and touted school library book bans and Florida laws that prevent kids from receiving gender-affirming care, casting them as part of a larger fight against “indoctrination.”

DeSantis focused on his resumé in “the free state of Florida,” and made a few subtle jabs at Trump.

“It is time to put up or shut up,” DeSantis said. “No more excuses about why we can’t win against the left. No more excuses about why you didn’t do what you said you would do.”

DeSantis has also used the term “no excuses” to brand his immigration plan while calling Trump soft on Mexico.

DeSantis’ speech included several inaccuracies or statements lacking context.

He falsely claimed California parents can lose custody of children who identify as transgender if they do not consent to gender-affirming health care.

That falsehood, which has spread widely on social media, misrepresents a bill in the state that would allow minors 12 and older to receive mental health counseling or therapy without parental consent.

» READ MORE: Why Trump, DeSantis, and GOP rivals are flocking to the Moms for Liberty convention

DeSantis is running the closest to Trump in the crowded battle for the GOP nomination. He has close ties to Moms for Liberty, which started in Florida. Attendees on Friday welcomed him warmly with applause for declarations such as, “We have prohibited puberty blockers,” and “We’re not doing the pronoun Olympics.”

“He’s going to be the next president,” said Loranne Mazzulo, who is running for school board in the Rose-Tree Media School District.

She said DeSantis has a track record in “getting rid of this indoctrination, this wokeness,” and right now prefers him to Trump.

“I don’t think he comes with the same baggage,” she said.

While DeSantis’ speech seemed tailor-made for the audience, Haley’s sounded more like a traditional stump speech that also covered her personal story of growing up in rural South Carolina, where hers was the only Indian family in her small town.

A mother of two, she appealed to the crowd, mom-to-mom.

“When they mentioned that this was a terrorist organization, I said, ‘Well, then count me as a Mom for Liberty, because that’s what I am.’ ”

Her speech, which was heavy on international affairs, got personal 20 minutes in when she mentioned her husband had just deployed last week for a yearlong tour in Africa.

She called transgender participation in sports “one of the biggest women’s issues of our time.”

“My daughter ran track in high school. I don’t even know how I would have had that conversation with her,” she said, noting rising suicide rates among young women.

While suicide rates among teen girls is rising, Haley left out another tragic statistic: Research has found LGTBQ youth are at a higher risk for depression, self-harm, and suicide than non-LGTBQ peers.

Moms for Liberty cofounder Tina Descovich opened the convention likening Moms for Liberty members to Revolutionary wartime patriots.

“You are the courage in America right now. You are the Thomas Paines, the Ben Franklins, the Margaret Corbins,” she said. “We are in a fight for liberty, we are in a fight for the future of this country.”

Outside of the Marriott on Filbert Street, a small group of about 60 protesters held up signs like, “Try reading books instead of banning them!”

Pennsylvania state Democratic chair Sharif Street slammed the top GOP candidates’ attendance at the convention as “MAGA Republicans ... flocking to Philadelphia this weekend to rub shoulders with the same extremist group that’s crusading to ban books from schools and force politics into classrooms across the country.”

Staff writer Jeremy Roebuck contributed to this article.