Since late last year, conservatives have telegraphed their extreme plans to leverage the whole of the federal government to attack abortion access if Donald Trump wins a second term. At the same time, Trump’s campaign advisers and allies have signaled their intent to position him as a “moderate” on abortion — even though he backed a national abortion ban as president and assembled the conservative Supreme Court supermajority that overturned Roe v. Wade , ending federal protection for abortion rights.
On Monday, that fiction won out, as the Republican National Committee adopted a platform excluding many of the party’s controversial and most closely held positions. The move generated the exact type of headlines that Trump and his allies undoubtedly intended. “Following Trump’s Lead, Republicans Adopt Platform That Softens Stance on Abortion,” The New York Times ’ headline declared, with the story asserting the agenda “cements Mr.
Trump’s ideological takeover of the GOP.” The Washington Post headline read , “GOP adopts platform that softens language on abortion, same-sex marriage.” Politico headlined its piece , “ RNC poised in draft text to drop national limits on abortion from party platform,” and suggested the agenda document “represents a major change for the GOP — and one that anti-abortion advocates had spent months rallying against.
” On its face, the new RNC agenda does present a more moderate picture on both social issues and kitchen.
