How Donald Trump Changed the GOP Platform—And Why it Matters

In some ways, the Republican Party platform for the 2016 presidential campaign is a Donald Trump platform.

In many other ways it isn’t, but the presidential nominee has the opportunity during the next three months to convince the American people that the parts of the platform he deems most important should become American law if they vote for him.

If you have followed Trump closely since he declared his presidential candidacy in June, 2015, you know the issues that animate him. They aren’t social issues such as gay marriage. The New York Times article “Emerging Republican Platform Goes Far to the Right” accurately points out that the platform’s positions on several social issues is “far to the right of Mr. Trump’s beliefs.”

The issues that animate the longtime business executive include fighting terrorism, restoring law and order, revising what he repeatedly calls unfair trade deals, asking other nations to make a greater contribution to preserving peace, and making sure that illegal immigrants stop entering this nation.

Trump’s specific proposals on most, if not all, of these issues are often different than past Republican leaders’ proposals on these issues. Consequently, it is important that the 2016 platform’s positions on these issues reflect the opinions of Trump rather than past presidential nominees such as George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.

The Republican Party platform has definitely changed because of Trump — and that matters because it reflects the changing viewpoint of conservatives and Republicans in the nation at large AND could spur major changes in the United States if Trump is elected president.

Put simply, the changes in the GOP platform spurred by Trump are the core of his vision of what is needed to convert his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again!” into reality. You can read the entire GOP 2016 platform here, but let’s take a look at the most significant changes from past platforms that were spurred by Trump’s successful campaign for the 2016 GOP nomination.

The Wall

Does anyone remember how pro-immigration President Bush and McCain were and how strongly the GOP was for immigration reform after Romney’s defeat? Trump changed the debate.

With 11 million illegal immigrants in the USA, Trump has repeatedly called for the building of a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. The platform reflects his proposal, which it calls “our highest priority.”

It says that “the border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.” The New York Times article notes that the platform’s draft called for a “physical barrier,” but Trump’s allies definitely wanted “wall” in the text.

Immigrants from the Middle East

Trump has been called lots of names by lots of liberals for some of his proposals to reduce terrorism. Many Republicans have agreed with the liberals, but Trump’s views are now reflected in the GOP platform.

Trump understands that Muslims from the Middle East are statistically more apt to commit terrorism than people of other religions so the platform calls for “special scrutiny to those foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States from terror-sponsoring countries or from regions associated with Islamic terrorism.”

Islamic Terrorism

The platform also uses a term that President Barack Obama has refused to use – “radical Islamic terrorism” – and declares it an “existential threat” to the world. Four years ago, the GOP platform didn’t mention the terrorist group ISIS because ISIS didn’t exist.

Trump blames Obama and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the rise of ISIS so the 2016 platform does too. The platform explicitly says that the U.S. under Trump must “destroy ISIS.”

Law and Order

Illegal aliens can, and often do, make our nation’s crime problem worse. Consequently, the GOP platform calls for expediting the deportation of criminal aliens and making membership in a gang a deportable offense.

The platform also calls for jailing people who have illegally entered the USA after having been deported for at least five years and ending federal funding for all “sanctuaries cities” that have protected illegal aliens from deportation.

Better Trade Agreements

Historically, the GOP has supported trade pacts. The 2012 platform supported the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), a trade pact that has since been signed by the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, including Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Vietnam. The 2016 platform doesn’t mention TPPA, an indication the GOP now opposes it.

Trump has repeatedly said that negotiations can only succeed if you’re willing to walk away from them. The platform endorses Trump’s approach. It also advocates tariffs against nations that won’t sign fair trade deals and policies that will prevent China from refusing to buy U.S. products and manipulating its currency.

Iran

Last year, the U.S. signed a deal with Iran that removed economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for Iran pledging to halt its nuclear weapons program for 15 years. Republicans oppose the agreement because Iran can’t be trusted to halt its program, it could finance terrorism with the revenues from trade, and the pact allows Iran to restart its program in the future.

The latter provisions could threaten the existence of Israel. The platform calls the deal a “personal agreement” between Obama and Iran because the U.S. Senate never ratified the agreement and, thus, is not a treaty. The agreement is “non-binding” on the next president, the platform says.

Europe

Trump has been criticized repeatedly for saying that the USA’s allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 28 nations that have pledged to defend each other, should spend more on armed forces, but the platform endorses his views. It notes that NATO’s European members spend about one-fourth per person than the USA.

The platform also pledges to support Ukraine against Russia and pledges more sanctions against Russia “until Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored” despite allegations that Trump is pro-Russia.

The GOP platform also includes provisions that Trump and his allies didn’t lobby for. This essentially proves that Trump is a team player who is willing to let other Republicans have input in a document that many Republicans believe is very important. The provisions in the GOP platform that were more likely the result of the lobbying of other Republicans include:

* A condemnation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage and a call to overturn the decision via a new majority on the Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment that returns the decision on gay marriages to the states.

* Support of federal legislation that would “bar government discrimination against individuals and businesses for acting on the belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.”

* Repeal of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Trump zealously supports this, but so have virtually all Republicans since 2010.

* A call for state legislatures to pass laws that will require public schools to offer courses on the Bible.

* A pledge to rebuild the U.S. military so it is again the strongest on the planet. The platform, and Trump, have repeatedly accused Obama and Clinton of weakening the military.

* A harsh critique of Obama’s decision to be friendlier towards Cuba. Despite Obama’s decision, the economic sanctions against Cuba remain law and the platform says they should remain unless and until Cuba legalizes political parties, permits free and fair elections, and allows an independent media to flourish.

* A pledge to help small businesses by reducing the “overregulation” of startup enterprises, including reducing licensing requirements.


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