(RepublicanJournal.org) – Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is facing questions from some Conservatives after he criticized previous GOP policies. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has just voted through a new, more liberal policy platform under pressure from Trump’s campaign. It’s a smart move for November’s election — but could increase tensions within the Republican Party.
Trump Pushes for Revised Platform
On July 8, the RNC voted on a new policy platform. The radically cut-down document is just 16 pages long, far shorter than the previous 58-page version adopted in 2016, and several traditional GOP policies are missing from it. The new policy list waters down previous calls for a federal ban on abortion, replacing it with a statement on states’ rights to legislate on the issue, and the long-standing Republican objection to gay marriage has completely disappeared. The updated document, which was overwhelmingly passed by an 84-14 vote, also changes the party’s policies on protectionism and trade tariffs to align them with Trump’s own beliefs, which reject much of the GOP’s free trade ideology of the 1990s and 2010s.
The new platform came as a surprise to many Republicans, but the RNC voted on it after Trump’s campaign asked them to. It’s obvious why the nominee would want the party to promote the same policies as himself, and also easy to understand why the RNC would want to be on the same page as its candidate, but some socially conservative Republicans aren’t happy. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the update “a profound disappointment to… millions of pro-life Republicans.”
Trump probably doesn’t care much what Mike Pence thinks, but he’s already been publicly questioned on how he would handle these issues if he’s re-elected. Talking to Fox News on July 10, he was asked by host Brian Kilmeade why he’s pushed for a more liberal approach to questions that are very important to many Republicans. Kilmeade suggested that it seems like Trump is targeting moderate voters. Trump denied this, saying “It’s not targeting moderates, it’s common sense.”
Continuing on that theme, Trump risked angering Conservatives by saying he didn’t want bans on gay marriage because that’s “Not what we’re about.” He defended his position on abortion bans, saying he’d “simplified” the issue by appointing the Supreme Court justices who voted through the appeal of Roe v Wade. He went on to slam the old platform for containing “other things that were ridiculous.” Overall, while Trump might have upset some in his own party, he’s just made it a lot harder for the Democrats to accuse him of being “far right.”
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