'Parental-rights activists' are pushing an 'authoritarian' agenda — with Trump’s help

When Donald Trump called for "patriotic education" for public schools in September 2020, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice was vehemently critical — telling CNN's Erin Burnett that Trump's idea sounded like something out of Mao Tse Tung-era China.

Three years later, Trump and other MAGA Republicans, including the far-right group Moms for Liberty, haven't given up on their idea. In fact, New York Magazine's Sarah Jones stresses that he is making it a priority in his 2024 campaign.

"Parents simply want to protect children from smut and indoctrination, activists say," Jones explains in an article published on September 19. "'Parental rights' is veneer, though: The movement exclusively opposes LGBT content, sex education, and anti-racist material. They've banned books and threatened librarians and fired teachers. These activists are extremists, and so are their allies in office."

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Jones continues, "If anyone doubted that, Donald Trump's latest education proposal should enlighten them. The former president's top priority is to 'restore' parental rights, he announced last week. By this, he means he wants schools to out LGBT children to their parents — or, as he put it, notify parents 'if a teacher or other school employee' has changed a child's 'name, pronouns, or understanding of his or her gender.' Many of Trump's policies are designed to push children back into the closet, all at the behest of far-right parents."

Jones notes that Trump is calling for a "credentialing body" for teachers who "embrace patriotic values and support the American way of life."

"Parental-rights activists and Trump have much in common beyond their hatred for LGBT people," Jones comments. "They both share an authoritarian tendency."

READ MORE:Moms for Liberty: ‘Joyful warriors’ or anti-government conspiracists?

Read the full New York Magazine article at this draft.