The Republican National Committee is keeping their 2016 platform intact verbatim, which means it repeatedly condemns the “current president,” The New York Times reports.
The party scrapped plans to hold its national convention in Charlotte after clashing with state officials over coronavirus restrictions that may prevent the arena from being filled to capacity.
The RNC will still hold the business portion of the convention in Charlotte due to contractual obligations but the party already voted to keep the platform as is.
“The survival of the internet as we know it is at risk,” the platform says. “Its gravest peril originates in the White House, the current occupant of which has launched a campaign, both at home and internationally, to subjugate it to agents of government.”
The 2016 platform includes more than three dozen swipes as the “current president” and “current administration.”
The platform, obviously aimed at criticizing former President Obama, argues that the current administration has imposed a “a social and cultural revolution,” causing a “huge increase in the national debt.”
“The Middle East is more dangerous now than at any time since the Second World War,” the platform says. “Whatever their disagreements, presidents of both parties had always prioritized America’s national interests, the trust of friendly governments, and the security of Israel. That sound consensus was replaced with impotent grandstanding on the part of the current President and his Secretaries of State. The results have been ruinous for all parties except Islamic terrorists and their Iranian and other sponsors.”
Trump tries to downplay:
“The Republican Party has not yet voted on a Platform,” Trump tweeted on Friday. “No rush. I prefer a new and updated Platform, short form, if possible.”
But that’s not true. The RNC already voted to adopt the 2016 platform.
Under the RNC rules, the convention will adjourn with the old platform, meaning that the party’s platform cannot be changed until 2024.
Move came over concerns about Jared’s influence:
The decision came after reports that Jared Kushner wanted to shrink the 66-page platform down to a single page.
Republican activists were “livid” with Kushner’s involvement and discussed efforts to resist his changes even though they were drafted by the Trump campaign.
But ultimately it was logistics that prompted them to accept the existing platform. Rather than invite thousands of delegates to vote, the convention will be limited to just a few hundred.
