Some might argue that this shows that today’s Republican Party has nothing to offer but loyalty to Trump. Indeed, the GOP has ambitious agendas, many of which are unpopular. That’s probably why Trump doesn’t want to put them on the record, and why the party’s platform committee will also be meeting behind closed doors, even though its meetings are traditionally broadcast on C-SPAN.
“Publishing an unnecessarily lengthy paper will add fuel to the fires of misinformation and misrepresentations to your opponent’s voters,” Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, two of the nominee’s top advisers, wrote in a memo to delegates drafting the platform. The same advisers had previously tried to distance Trump from the 920-page plan for a second term that was released as part of Project 2025, an effort by pro-Trump activists to lay out an agenda for his return to the White House. But Trump’s former budget director and incoming chief of staff, Russ Vought, wrote a chapter for Project 2025 and is now policy director for the platform committee.
Abortion is the issue Trump’s team fears most. The Republican Party’s 2016 platform supported a 20-week nationwide ban on abortion, a “human life amendment” to the Constitution, and a federal personhood law that would give the unborn child 14th Amendment protections. Trump personally calls abortion the “a-word” and acknowledges his role in overturning the amendment. Roe v. Wade Even if he boasts about it, it’s a sticking point in the general election. So now Trump says he wants to leave abortion policy up to the states, he won’t try to ban medication abortions, and he supports in vitro fertilization.
But abortion opponents have called for Republicans to maintain their longstanding support for restrictive federal law, and they have many allies in the GOP. Ed Martin, deputy policy director for the party’s platform committee, has called for a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, and has expressed a willingness to jail women who seek abortions, CNN reported.
There are other thorny issues: The 2016 platform said Congress and states should have the right to ban same-sex marriage and supported the right of parents to force gay children into conversion therapy. The 2016 document also said Republicans would “not accept any territorial changes in Eastern Europe by force,” something that Trump seems poised to force Ukraine to do if he wins the November election.
Avoiding divisive issues may be politically expedient, limiting attention to the party’s increasingly outdated policy agenda. And keeping Republican platform fights secret keeps the focus on Democratic infighting. But voters should know not only who they are voting for, but also what they are voting for. Likewise, a party that tries to hide what it will do should be viewed with the suspicion of voters. Meanwhile, a party that wins without candor is unlikely to command any real credibility.
Indeed, Trump is clearly a threat even without detailing all the bizarre plans the far-right incoming administration plans to impose on the American people. Recently, Trump has been praised by some commentators for showing restraint by staying out of the way while the Democrats debated the nomination. Indeed, his social media posts have been relentlessly toxic. He has reshared posts such as “President Biden should be arrested for treason,” “former Republican representative Liz Cheney is guilty of treason,” and “members of the House Select Committee on January 6 should go to jail.”
But Americans who tend to mistake such actions for mere boasting should wonder what Trump would do in the Oval Office when his powerful base is pushing him to take extreme action. Trump and his allies float ideas that would be disastrous for the United States, such as a 10% tariff across the board, deporting millions of illegal immigrants, and politicizing the civil service. Trump has said he is running for “revenge” and “retribution” against his critics, while promising not to be a dictator “except on day one.” Trump is able to avoid such talk in part because he doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
Voters should demand better than this cynical strategic ambiguity.
