Donald J. Trump told officials Monday that he supports a new Republican policy platform that reflects the presumptive nominee's new position on abortion rights and streamlines policy details across all spheres of government.
A person familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the new platform cements Trump's ideological takeover of the Republican Party and is more nationalistic, protectionist and less socially conservative than the 2016 Republican platform that was reprised in the 2020 election.
Trump, who received the draft several days ago, convened a meeting of party leaders on Monday and said he supported the draft. The draft was overwhelmingly approved by the platform committee on Monday by a vote of 84 to 18, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The section on abortion has been softened; there is no longer any mention of “traditional marriage between one man and one woman.” And there is no emphasis on reducing the national debt, just a brief sentence about “cutting wasteful government spending.”
The rest of the document reflects the priorities outlined on Trump's campaign website: hardline immigration policies including mass deportations, protectionist trade policies that would impose new tariffs on most imports, and using the power of the federal government to dismantle policies put in place by Radical Democrats in academia, the military and throughout the U.S. government.
Trump and his allies have alienated some activists by excluding them from the development of the platform, and the former president has been particularly focused on softening his language on abortion, which he sees as his greatest weakness in the wake of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The 2024 draft platform has significantly watered down its section on protecting human life. In the 2016 and 2020 platforms, this section included extensive, specific details about what Republicans would do to restrict abortion, including supporting a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. “The unborn child has a fundamental right to life that must not be infringed,” it read.
The 2024 draft platform, described in the Times as “America First: A Return to Common Sense,” softens the language on abortion, shifting the issue from a matter of conscience to one best addressed by states. “We believe that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person shall be denied life or liberty without due process, and therefore that states are free to make laws to protect those rights,” the draft platform states.
The document makes no mention of a federal abortion ban, which Trump has said he opposes. Instead, the new platform emphasizes that Republicans oppose “late-term abortions” and that the party supports “access to contraception and in vitro fertilization (IVF).”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life Organization of America, who had concerns about the platform changes before the committee's approval, indicated she supported the platform changes.
“It is significant that Republicans today reaffirmed their commitment to protecting unborn life through the 14th Amendment,” she said in a statement. “Under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions. The Republican Party remains strongly pro-life at the national level,” she added. “The mission of the pro-life movement over the next six months is to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda.”
Ralph Reed, president of the conservative social group Faith and Freedom Union, also expressed optimism about the new language.
“The Republican platform makes clear that the unborn child has a constitutionally protected right to life under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment,” Reid said, adding that this has been in the GOP platform for some time, and praised Trump. “While this is ambitious, it applies to both state and federal governments. The proposed late-term abortion ban would mean federal action as well as state action.”
The new platform language also affirms Trump's Republican stance on Medicare and Social Security, stating that he will “not cut one penny” from either program. In contrast, the 2016 platform said, “We reject the old adage that Social Security is the 'third wire' of American politics” and that “all options should be on the table to preserve Social Security.”
Notably, the platform also removed language in support of statehood for Puerto Rico, which has been a staple of Republican platforms for decades.
The platform does not outline a broader vision for the Republican Party, but instead appears explicitly aimed at winning the 2024 presidential election. The first two chapters are devoted to inflation and immigration, two issues Trump wants to make central to his campaign.
The platform committee is meeting in Milwaukee on Monday ahead of next week's convention. After the committee votes to approve the document, the platform will move forward to a vote next week.
