On a recent weeknight, about two dozen women logged into a video chat dubbed “Mom’s Night In” to learn how to better engage their friends and neighbors about the importance of voting for President Trump this November. That event along with the “Moms for Trump Online!” broadcasts are just some of the many efforts the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) are making to directly engage with moms across America.
Engaging with mothers “where they are” has been a priority for the President, his administration and the teams working to re-elect him. It stems from Donald Trump’s long-standing practice of hiring the best people for the job, even when that means accommodating various time and geographical constraints to make it happen. Donald J. Trump’s White House, Republican National Committee, and the Trump 2020 Campaign should be awarded the “Best Place to Work for Working Mothers” for the way they have prioritized work-life balance, elevated strong women into prominent leadership positions and promoted policies that benefit women in the workplace.
Throughout my entire political career in the Republican Party, I have always worked for and been surrounded by Conservative women in leadership positions. Working women like Lois Fitch, Barby Wells, Governor Jane Dee Hull, Blaise Hazelwood, Sara Taylor, Candi Wolff, Rhonda Keenum Angela Sailor, and now Ronna McDaniel always showed me that in the Republican party, women could succeed. Additionally, for those that were mothers, that was an asset and not a liability.
When the current Trump campaign Senior Advisor Katrina Pierson took the job as National Spokesperson in 2016 for Donald Trump she did so from Texas because the president knew it would be easier for her as a single mother. Appearing on TV nightly and traveling when necessary for events and meetings, she was able to put her family first and work for Donald Trump. During the historic Atlanta, GA launch of Black Voices for Trump, the Trump Campaign Coalitions Director, Hannah Castillo, could not attend because she was in labor with her daughter, but sure enough there were still emails coming in and well wishes to all of us from her. Being a new, working mom and leading all the Coalitions has not stopped her from launching over a dozen national coalitions with thousands of supporters and hundreds of in-person and online events for President Trump along with other senior staffers like Lara Trump, Mercedes Schlapp and Kimberley Guilfoyle.
When President Trump selected and re-nominated the former Chair of the Michigan GOP, she was a relative unknown on the national political scene. The most successful RNC Chair in history in terms of elections won, record breaking-fundraising and grassroots engagement expansion is a working mother from Michigan. Ronna McDaniel keeps her home base in Michigan while also managing to log more than 300,000 travel miles a year for the GOP.
This Mother’s Day we can look inside the Republican-led White House and see strong working mothers like our First Lady, who continues to focus on children through her “Be Best” initiative and provide information to mothers and children about staying safe from COVID-19 while at home with her own child, Barron Trump. There are working mothers with children at home like Brook Rollins, Stephanie Grisham, Joyce Bogoshian, Rickie Niceta, Kellyanne Conway, Julie Radford and Ivanka Trump, who led the White House efforts to make Paid Family Leave a reality, running point on a host of economic, STEM and women-focused policy agenda items that are benefiting working women worldwide.
Watching Kayleigh McEnany take the podium as the third working mother, behind Sarah Sanders and Stephanie Grisham, to be White House Press Secretary in the Trump administration was another point of pride and source of inspiration for many women and men like myself.
With the GOP and President Trump the sign on the door says, “Moms Need Apply.” The door is open to you to let your voice be heard, get involved and make a difference in this election by showing your support for President Trump. Mothers like my mom are tuning in to watch the nightly Team Trump Online shows with leaders, activists, and elected officials and now moms can download the new campaign app and sign up to join one of the many Team Trump Coalitions.
In the age of COVID-19, our unsung heroes have got to be the millions of working moms who are now at home observing social distancing, holding the family together, and in many cases teaching. There are single working mothers all over the country on the front lines working at grocery stores, hospitals, government, our military, and in politics. For those that are able to work from home, still have to go into work, or are looking for a job while simultaneously serving as a stand-in teacher, we honor you.
I am proud that President Trump supports talented working moms and has shown through his personnel decisions that being a mother is a blessing and adds to the diversity of the workplace. This Republican President has led the way in empowering, promoting and showing the world that mothers have a powerful voice and are very effective at the highest levels of any industry.
Paris Dennard is a GOP political commentator, strategist, and Senior Communications Advisor for Black Media Affairs at the Republican National Committee. Follow him on Twitter at @PARISDENNARD.