Trump proposes new Republican platform that softens party's positions on abortion, same-sex marriage

At the urging of former President Donald Trump and his allies, the Republican Party is set to abandon a decades-long campaign for a federal abortion ban and soften its position on same-sex marriage in its platform, according to changes to a draft policy platform adopted Monday morning ahead of next week's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

The new draft of the party platform, which still needs to be approved by the full Republican National Committee, comes after the Trump campaign made a quiet effort to exclude from the platform committee those seen as too socially conservative, out of fear that they would vocally push for things like a federal abortion ban, which has historically been unpopular in opinion polls.

The reality is that this platform reflects today's realities, said a platform committee member who spoke anonymously to NBC News to detail the private deliberations. It's a position that leaves the decision up to the states, which is the Republican Party's position.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington on June 22. Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images file

Debates over how to handle changes on abortion and same-sex marriage dominated the run-up to the Republican Party’s national policy agenda change, an event that typically occurs every four years around the same time as presidential elections. For the first time in years, the agenda meeting was held behind closed doors, with no media or public access.

Social conservatives pushed to retain old platform language promoting an abortion ban and opposing same-sex marriage, but they lost because the politics surrounding both have changed over the years. Trump said earlier this year that abortion should remain a state policy issue, following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and the Trump White House has said during his administration that it supports same-sex marriage.

“It’s fair to say that more than 1,000 pastors have emailed, texted and called me to express their disappointment with the direction they’ve taken with the platform,” said Chad Connelly, a former South Carolina GOP chairman who said he was kicked off the platform committee because he was “labeled as too pro-life.”

The words I hear are shocked, betrayed, trampled, depressed, deflated, he said. Most pastors I know don’t want Biden and will probably still vote for Trump, but it’s taking away from the energy these people need to do the things that are necessary to help elect a president.

In a statement, Trump's top advisers said the platform represents his vision for the Republican Party heading into the 2024 election cycle.

President Trump's 2024 Republican Party platform articulates his vision of “Making America Great Again” in a concise and understandable way for every voter, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.

Biden's campaign team said the GOP's draft platform obscured Trump's true policy goals.

Every voter should Google “Project 2025” if they want to know Donald Trump’s real agenda for America, Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said in a statement. “What was published today was not an op-ed, it was a cheap, all-caps admission that Trump and his campaign want to hide from his dangerous Project 2025 agenda to make Trump a dictator from day one, destroy our system of checks and balances, slash Social Security, ban abortion and worse.”

Trump’s endorsement of the party’s proposed platform comes just two days after he publicly criticized the conservative groups behind the drafting of Project 2025, a 922-page road map of policies for a possible second Trump administration. Critics have panned some of the plan’s proposals, and the Biden campaign has repeatedly sought to link Trump to it.

“I don’t know anything about Project 2025,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “I have no idea who is behind it. I don’t agree with some of the things they say and some of the things they say are absolutely ridiculous and appalling. Whatever they do, I wish them well, but I have nothing to do with them.”

Republican National Committee policy platform director Russ Vought was also a co-author of Project 2025, which is led by the Heritage Foundation and supported by more than 100 other allied organizations.

A day after Trump's social media post, Project 2025 director Paul Dans canceled a taped interview with NBC News that was scheduled for Monday.

Inside Platform Changes

The Republican Party’s current policy platform, unchanged since 2016 after the party abandoned the selection process during the pandemic in 2020, says the GOP supports a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The proposed changes this year state that the 14th Amendment inherently offers protections for life from conception and that states are therefore free to pass laws protecting those rights.

It's a significant shift for the Republican Party, which has been grappling with how to navigate its position on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pitting social conservatives against figures more concerned about the political implications of the party's position.

“It is unfortunate that the statement on abortion and pro-life issues is very weak and much less effective in articulating a strong policy agenda around these issues,” said John Stemberger, president of Liberty Counsel Action, a conservative advocacy group.

Stemberger praised new sections added to the GOP's policy platform that provide protections for parental rights in education and officially place the party in opposition to the sexist indoctrination of our children.

On same-sex marriage, the Trump-backed platform committee also approved changes that are opposed by the party's social conservatives. The proposed new platform removes passages that state that marriage is the union of one man and one woman and is the foundation of a free society.

The text was replaced by one stating that the party promotes a culture that values ​​the sanctity of marriage, the blessing of childhood, the fundamental role of the family and supports working parents. The proposed new program does not mention a man and a woman.

Although an intense lobbying effort was underway ahead of the platform committee meeting, the issue was not a topic of debate at Monday's meeting, which focused more on language related to abortion.

I don't think a single person has talked about it, a second platform committee member told NBC News.

One issue that garnered attention during the roughly three-hour meeting was the potential use of military forces on the southern border, a topic that a handful of platform committee members said could raise legal concerns. Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican and former Green Beret, quickly refuted those concerns.

Other additions to the party platform include launching the largest deportation program in American history, an initiative to use federal law to prevent foreign communists, Marxists and socialists who hate Christians from entering America, and an effort to exclude men from women's sports.

The draft platform also calls for Republicans to hold accountable those who have used government to unfairly prosecute their political opponents.

We will declassify government records, root out wrongdoers, and fire corrupt employees, the platform reads, a reference to the baseless notion that President Joe Biden and Democrats wrongly prosecuted Republicans for political reasons.

The proposed platform is just 16 pages long, far fewer than the current document, which is more than 60 pages long. It is the result of a concerted effort by Trump to simplify and streamline the party's policy platform.

For decades, Republicans have issued platforms that are scrutinized and deliberately distorted by our political opponents, Wiles and LaCivita wrote in a memo published late last month, first reported by The New York Times. The mainstream media uses its platform to perpetuate lies and misrepresentations, and voters are often led to believe that we advocate for positions that are different from what we actually advocate.

It's something some party officials said was the right decision after years of massive GOP programs.

This is what a platform should be, in my opinion, said a party official. This is what DJT is based on, but not on hundreds of pages of chatter.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.BizWebsite: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos