PHILADELPHIA – Last week, a local Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty drew attention for quoting Adolf Hitler in its newsletter. After the local newspaper reported the story, the group added additional “context” but kept the quote. Eventually, after facing even greater scrutiny, the organization retracted the quote and apologized in a statement posted to its Facebook group.
That, however, was a big mistake, according to advice from the media lineup at the Moms for Liberty national conference on Friday.
“Never apologize. Ever,” said Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler. “That’s my opinion. Other people have different opinions on that. I think apologizing makes you weak.”
He advised the audience to instead make it clear that Hitler’s comment was “vile” but immediately aim to highlight that the Nazi leader was indoctrinating children in schools, which is what he was fighting against Moms for Liberty. Ziegler warned that any apology would become the headline, so it should be avoided.
Christian Ziegler, pictured here in 2018, led a media training at the Moms for Liberty conference this week.Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via AP file
Moms for Liberty says it’s nonpartisan, but it has become a conservative powerhouse, with about 120,000 members in 285 chapters in 44 states. The group started in Brevard County, Florida in 2021, initially as a way to fight against Covid restrictions and mask mandates.
It has since morphed into a sprawling organization that aims to fight for what it sees as parental rights, but which critics, including the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center, label of anti-government extremism. Its members have removed books they deem inappropriate from public school libraries and pushed to end what they see as the “indoctrination” of children about issues such as race, gender and sexuality.
The group is holding its second annual national conference here this week, bringing together all five GOP presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ziegler conducted his training during a workshop, giving more than 100 attendees a lesson in how to deal with the media as activists attract more attention and scrutiny.
In a follow-up conversation with NBC News on Saturday, Ziegler called it “a very 101 presentation” where he was just “giving some ideas.”
These sessions are typically closed to the press, but Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice invited NBC News to attend. A spokesman for the organization later disputed that invitation, and Ziegler said he believed the session was closed to the press. An NBC News reporter identified himself to two staff members working the session and presented his media credentials at the door.
In a written statement, co-founders Justice and Tina Descovich said, “We hosted more than 100 members of the media at our national summit in Philadelphia, including NBC. The breakdown of our K-12 public education system in the America can’t hide, and that’s why we’re proud that so many of our members are brave enough to do interviews with reporters, even when they’re not fair or kind.
The session took a look at how these parents, many of them newly engaged activists, are trying to shape the media narrative as they grow more powerful within the Republican Party ahead of the 2024 election and candidates favor your favor
Ziegler’s main message was clear: “The media is not your friend.”
“If you give [the media] the least amount possible, you’re completely in control of the message,” he said. “The more you give them, the less you control. The less you give them, the more you control.”
Attendees asked Ziegler questions about how to get journalists to come to his events and how to get a “positive” message across. Ziegler’s presentation emphasized the importance of being on the offensive and not letting your guard down.
“They’re lazy,” Ziegler said of reporters. “They have no idea what goes on at school board meetings. They often don’t even know how local government works.”
He also told attendees to prioritize local news interviews over going to the national media.
“That’s where you reach the undecideds,” he said, adding that people who watch Fox News or MSNBC probably know how they’re going to vote, but local news consumers may not.
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice speaks at their meeting, Friday in Philadelphia.Matt Rourke / AP
Ziegler told attendees to look for opportunities to sound off their opponents and shared an example of a tactic to get in the head of a political opponent. It was about printing a piece of direct mail that goes to 50 of your opponent’s friends and neighbors, but the person will think it went to the entire city.
“They’re totally paranoid,” Ziegler predicted. “And they’ve burned three days of productivity” because they spend time worrying about an email that’s only gone out to a few dozen people.
In an interview, Ziegler later described the mailer controversy as “an example of campaigns that have nothing to do with media training.”
Attendees took notes and several photos from the accompanying PowerPoint presentation titled “(wo)manhandling the media.” Other breakout sessions included presentations titled “Comprehensive Sex Education: Sex Education or Sexualization” and “Dream Team: Winning Campaigns Have Winning Teams: What’s Your Role?”
Co-founders Justice and Descovich expressed sympathy for members of some of their chapters who have received unflattering media coverage and been accused of harassing teachers or school board members.
In an interview, Descovich said he believes the organization’s role is to “help.” [moms] to learn and grow and to be effective advocates” as Moms for Liberty continues to grow.
“They haven’t had media training,” Descovich said. “The pressure they’re under just to speak up for their children is a disaster.”
