A new Republican National Convention (RNC) platform was adopted by a voice vote of delegates on Monday, after the RNC Platform Committee approved it by an 84-18 vote. The platform is notably smaller than the previous platform from 2016, having cut out or weakened portions dealing with abortion, traditional marriage, the family, the national debt and gun rights. Over the past week, the changes have been a source of division among several prominent members of the party (Photo Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty).
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The largest backlash has come from a pro-life coalition led by former Vice President Mike Pence’s political foundation, Advancing American Freedom.
Their opposition centered around the platform removing calls for protecting the right to life for the unborn at a federal level, which had been present since 1984. Instead, the new platform mentions that states are free to pass laws relating to abortion, specifically calling out late term abortion, while calling for protecting birth control and IVF nationally.
“We proudly stand for families and life,” the new platform states. “We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process and that the states are, therefore, free to pass laws protecting those rights.”
After former President Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told POLITICO that the coalition dropped their opposition to the platform.
“Given today, and everything that has occurred, if the opportunity were there [for a floor fight] we wouldn’t take it at this point,” Perkins said. “Don’t take our silence as being indifferent to what took place, it’s just timing.”
Many Christian influencers criticized the removal of pro-marriage and family language from the platform, including Allie Beth Stuckey.
The American Solidarity Party, a pro-life third party, reportedly received hundreds of follows on social media after the changes elicited a fiery debate on social media, with some, especially evangelical and Catholic accounts, as well as pro-life Democrats, expressing their support. The National Review, whose founder, William Buckley, is remembered as one of the fathers of fusionism, or the New Right coalition between social conservatives, libertarians, and neoconservatives, also published an article calling them the “new party of life.”
The new platform also removed any specific mention of supporting gun rights, except for a passing mention of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 2016 platform, on the other hand, condemned “anti-gun” justices, “frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers,” the creation of a federal gun registry or licensing system, among other specific policies.
The Indiana General Assembly, on the other hand, recently passed laws attempting to address some of these concerns, including House Enrolled Act 1235, which made it so that only the State of Indiana could bring lawsuits against gun manufacturers, rather than localities, effectively stopping an ongoing lawsuit by the city of Gary.
House Enrolled Act 1084 also prevents the creation of a registry of privately owned firearms.
Additionally, the new platform removed any references to the national debt.
In 2023, the U.S. national debt jumped to $34 trillion, necessitating a payment of $1 trillion that year, or about 3.6% of the U.S. GDP. This is greater than the U.S. military budget, which stood at $820 billion in 2023.
The new platform, however, took a much harder stance against immigration, promising to “CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY,” and “DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN.”
The platform also promised to eliminate “chain immigration,” or family-based immigration, which provides a special visa process for the family members of immigrants, if they were separated at some point in the immigration process, to be reunited. The term is often used in the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The new platform also removed any recognition of the important contributions made by legal immigrants.
“Republicans will prioritize Merit-based immigration, ensuring those admitted to our Country contribute positively to our Society and Economy, and never become a drain on Public Resources,” it said.
This strikes a different tone from the previous platform.
“Just as immigrant labor helped build our country in the past, today’s legal immigrants are making vital contributions in every aspect of national life,” it said.
It is unclear how this will impact the growing support for former president Trump among Latino voters.