The Republican Party on Monday offered up a new platform for the first time since 2016 that makes state-level control of reproductive rights in post-Roe America ― as well as the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants ― its official party line.
The RNC’s platform, adopted ahead of next week’s nominating convention and dedicated to the “Forgotten Men and Women of America,” is backed by former President Donald Trump, who is poised to become the GOP’s presidential nominee next week.
Trump blasted out 20 campaign promises derived from the platform, including “SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION,” “CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY” and “END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN.”
For the first time in decades, the party removed mention of a 20-week national abortion ban and a constitutional amendment asserting the sanctity of life — a clear softening of its stance on abortion rights.
The 2024 platform only mentions abortion once, in a reference to opposing the procedure late in pregnancy. Otherwise, it cedes control of the issue to the states, arguing that the 14th Amendment “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 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People,” the document reads. “We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”
Trump has not shared when in a pregnancy he thinks abortion should be outlawed. But he has said he supports in vitro fertilization, after a deeply unpopular Alabama ruling in February declared a frozen embryo has the same rights as a fetus. He also said he won’t sign a federal abortion ban, after the Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade in 2022 proved unpopular with large swaths of voters.
The Biden campaign argued that even though the platform does not mention a federal ban, Trump can’t be trusted to keep his word.
“Donald Trump has made it clear with his own words and actions what he will do if he regains power — rip away women’s freedoms, punish women, and ban abortion nationwide,” Biden campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the country’s most influential anti-abortion groups, still praised Trump and the GOP platform, even though the party appears to have staked a less hard-line position. The group seemed to take the mention of the 14th Amendment as a tacit sign that Republicans might one day support a federal ban through Congress.
“It is important that the GOP reaffirmed its commitment to protect unborn life today through the 14th Amendment. Under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions,” said Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The Republican Party remains strongly pro-life at the national level. The mission of the pro-life movement, for the next six months, must be to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda.”
The 16-page document also formalizes the party’s position on eliminating taxes on tips (an idea previously floated by Trump to woo service workers); penalizing schools that deviate from teaching “America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization”; and giving Republicans greater control over Washington, D.C.
It’s the first time the GOP has updated its platform since 2016, after recycling the same policy positions at its 2020 convention during the pandemic. Beginning July 15, Republicans are set to meet for a four-day national convention in Milwaukee, where they’re expected to nominate Trump for president for the third time.
In 2016, the party hardly used the word “migrants” in its 66-page platform, except in a section about advancing human rights and protecting victims of sex trafficking.
The party now backs deporting “the millions of illegal Migrants who [President] Joe Biden has deliberately encouraged to invade our Country. We will start by prioritizing the most dangerous criminals and working with local Police. We must not allow Biden’s Migrant 4 Invasion to alter our Country.”
The 2024 platform, unlike previous ones, does not include reining in the national debt. But the party vowed to make permanent Trump’s first-term corporate and income tax cuts — which were responsible for ballooning the national debt.
It also omits an earlier mention of “traditional marriage” as being between “one man and one woman.” The party has largely moved beyond its opposition to same-sex marriage to focus on so-called “Left-wing Gender Insanity” in 2024. “We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition,” the text of the platform reads.
The new platform does not get into the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but says Republicans will stand with Israel and seek peace in the Middle East. In the all-caps campaign promises that seem to come directly from Trump, the party vows to “DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN.”