A new, slimmed-down Republican Party platform that won swift and overwhelming approval is the latest sign former president trump extend its ideological hold over the GOP.
Although the platform — which softens longstanding Republican language in favor of a federal abortion ban — was welcomed by a number of prominent social conservative leaders, not all evangelicals were pleased with the new document.
The platform, written by the former president and his top aides, was adopted Monday by a committee dominated by Trump supporters, which met behind closed doors in Milwaukee ahead of next week’s vote. Republican National Convention.
The vote in favor of the platform – laden with populism and nationalism – was 84 to 18, according to a source present at the meeting.
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Former President Trump, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a rally at Greenbrier Farms on June 28, 2024 in Chesapeake, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Our platform is forward-looking, with powerful promises that we will deliver very quickly when we win the White House and Republican majorities in the House and Senate,” Trump wrote on social media, welcoming the platform’s adoption.
The platform, titled “America First: A Return to Common Sense,” is the Republican Party’s first in eight years, since the 2016 document was duplicated in 2020. The 2016 platform was about 66 pages long. The new version was just 16 pages long.
The platform section on abortion has been significantly softened compared to the 2016 document.
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Following Trump’s lead, the document emphasizes that abortion is best handled by states.
“We believe that the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that no person shall be denied life or liberty without due process of law and that states are therefore free to enact laws protecting these rights,” the bill reads.
However, for the first time in 40 years, the document makes no mention of a federal abortion ban, which the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has stressed he opposes.
Instead, the new platform emphasizes: “We will oppose late-term abortion while supporting mothers and policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control and IVF (fertility treatments).”
In a letter highlighted by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, Seven evangelical and anti-abortion leaders — including Faith and Freedom Coalition President Ralph Reed and SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser — have endorsed the platform.
“President Donald J. Trump has a history of delivering on his promises. During his first term, we, as pro-life and pro-family leaders, have applauded his courageous leadership,” the letter said. “We support President Trump’s vision and commitment, as reflected in the Platform, to the causes that millions of Americans care about: protecting life and promoting family.”
However, not everyone was happy.
“I fear the Republican Party is moving away from its strong and definitive goal of protecting children from the moment of conception,” Tony Perkins, president of the influential Family Research Council, wrote on social media.
Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, took to social media to say that “now is the time to stand up for a strong vision of life — at all levels of government — not away from it.”
Additionally, ahead of the vote, a political group aligned with former Vice President Mike Pence — who has long been an advocate for evangelical voters — urged convention delegates on the platform committee not to purge anti-abortion language.
The platform also dropped longstanding language opposing same-sex marriage.
On economic issues, the platform does not emphasize reducing the national debt but instead calls for “ending inflation” and “making America affordable again.”
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In a major break with precedent on trade issues, the platform now supports tariffs.
The document also underscores Trump’s commitment not to cut Social Security or Medicare.
Marc Short, the Trump administration’s legislative affairs director and chief of staff to Vice President Pence, who served this cycle as a senior adviser during Pence’s unsuccessful presidential campaign, took aim at the boards.
“Passing tariffs and avoiding social spending has been a pillar of the Democratic Party. Passing massive tax increases (tariffs) as part of the Republican agenda will not lead to economic prosperity,” Short argued.
The platform also included much of the language and rhetoric Trump used on the campaign trail, including calls to close the U.S. border with Mexico and end “the use of government as a weapon against the American people.”
“It doesn’t mean we’re not going to support this or that. It just focuses on the big issues that everyone knows we’re going to support,” said one delegate who supported the platform and requested anonymity to speak more freely.
The delegate told Fox News that the new platform “is something I can sell. It’s very simple, straightforward, very readable and very understandable.”
Biden’s campaign took aim at the document, accusing Donald Trump’s policy “platform” of “looking more like the pamphlet of a deranged, sick conspiracy theorist who hates America and is only doing it for his own good.”
The platform is expected to be easily approved at the party’s congress next week.
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