A.G. Gancarski
A week ahead of the Republican National Convention, the Donald Trump campaign is rolling out a 16-page platform rooted in populist language and themes.
The timing of the document is interesting, given that it comes just days after the former President was forced to repudiate connections to the arch-conservative Project 2025, a right-wing wish list promulgated by the Heritage Foundation and other aligned groups.
Nonetheless, there is some overlap between the GOP platform and the think tank talking points.
The dedication to “the forgotten men and women of America” distills messaging familiar to those who have followed Trump’s political career for the last nine years.
“America needs determined Republican Leadership at every level of Government to address the core threats to our very survival: Our disastrously Open Border, our weakened Economy, crippling restrictions on American Energy Production, our depleted Military, attacks on the American System of Justice, and much more,” reads the document, which includes the former President’s penchant for liberal capitalization.
A total of “20 promises” are made in the platform, often without specifics regarding how they would be fulfilled.
“The Republican Party will reverse the worst Inflation crisis in four decades that has crushed the middle class, devastated family budgets, and pushed the dream of homeownership out of reach for millions. We will defeat Inflation, tackle the cost-of-living crisis, improve fiscal sanity, restore price stability, and quickly bring down prices,” the platform claims.
Other promises are specific, albeit potentially controversial, such as the energy security pitch.
“Republicans will unleash Energy Production from all sources, including nuclear, to immediately slash Inflation and power American homes, cars, and factories with reliable, abundant, and affordable Energy.”
Consistent with the Supreme Court’s recent undermining of the Chevron deference principle, Trump also promises to reinstitute “Deregulation Policies … and end Democrats’ regulatory onslaught that disproportionately harms low- and middle-income households.”
The deportation of undocumented immigrants is another promise, along with a proposal to “end the global chaos and restore Peace through Strength, reducing geopolitical risks and lowering commodity prices” that seems directed to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The platform also suggests an ideological litmus test regarding what immigration there might be under Trump, using “existing Federal Law to keep foreign Christian-hating Communists, Marxists, and Socialists out of America” and “extreme vetting to ensure that jihadists and jihadist sympathizers are not admitted.”
The platform also proposes openness to cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, two disruptive influences regarding the American dollar and the American workforce, respectively.
“Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets, and transact free from Government Surveillance and Control.”
Regarding AI, the pledge is to “repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.”
It is left to the reader to interpret what exactly “Human Flourishing” means. But further reading suggests that it includes extraterrestrial activity.
The platform also promises to put astronauts back on the moon, and to land them on Mars as well, floating “partnerships with the rapidly expanding Commercial Space sector to revolutionize our ability to access, live in, and develop assets in Space.”
With other proposals, including safety nets for senior citizens, the devil is in the details.
“Social Security is a lifeline for millions of Retirees, yet corrupt politicians have robbed Social Security to fund their pet projects. Republicans will restore Economic Stability to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security,” the platform asserts.
Along those lines, “Republicans will protect Medicare’s finances from being financially crushed by the Democrat plan to add tens of millions of new illegal immigrants to the rolls of Medicare. We vow to strengthen Medicare for future generations.”
And despite disavowing Project 2025, Trump’s proposals align with it on certain matters, including phasing out a Cabinet department. He wants to “close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run.”
Some platform planks combine two big proposals into one sentence, such as an expansion of defense capabilities such as Israel has in a much smaller space, and an ideological winnowing of the military.
“Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World. We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.”
18 comments
Steve Kirn
July 8, 2024 at 3:08 pm
Can we all get a pony, too?
I guess if Trump is elected, as King, he’ll simply say “Make it so.” and all of his new, loyal minions will simply leap to the task! For starters, I’ll be interested to see how he manages to simultaneously impose 100% tariffs on all imports and lower prices. And since commodities are, almost by definition “global” how will he control them? Oh yeah, *Drill, baby drill!”. That should solve everything!
My Take
July 8, 2024 at 3:14 pm
The (incorrect) popular version of the King Canute myth.
Tom
July 8, 2024 at 3:18 pm
You mean the Emperor has no clothes? Who would have thunked it? 🤣 I still remember infrastructure week, Mexico paying for the wall and repealing Obamacare …. sorry, I forgot .. None of it actually happened.
King Biden
July 8, 2024 at 4:11 pm
There is only one king in the United States and it is Joe Biden. Oh and he is definitely not wearing any clothes. All hail King Joe you zombies.
Michael K
July 8, 2024 at 6:53 pm
This troll has over ten different names on this site. A new one every day. A sicko or a Russian troll, or just Ms Pshaw. Best to ignore her.
MH/Duuuval
July 8, 2024 at 8:39 pm
Pshaw!
rick whitaker
July 8, 2024 at 9:02 pm
king biden, are you a nut?
Michael K
July 8, 2024 at 4:52 pm
Imagine! The RNC, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Donald Trump,, “managed” by his daughter-in-law, approved a platform that is all about Donald Trump!
Curt Waldrip
July 8, 2024 at 8:21 pm
I guess I don’t understand the problem. The proposals are just a goal to work towards and are full of easy to see common sense…unless you suffer from incurable TDS, in which case you probably see the Biden disaster as a wonderful success!🇺🇸
MH/Duuuval
July 8, 2024 at 8:44 pm
Looks like there will be plenty of jobs opening up for Deranged Trump Supporters should the Great Non Compos Mentis be elected. Get your MAGA creds in order!
rick whitaker
July 8, 2024 at 9:05 pm
curt waldrip, yes, you don’t understand the problem, as you said. you probably believe in that jesus fairytale. no wonder you don’t understand.
MH/Duuuval
July 8, 2024 at 9:16 pm
AG Moody’s washing machine concerns won’t fit into DJT’s 16-page memo, but there’s plenty of room on the 2025 epic.
MarvinM
July 8, 2024 at 11:25 pm
Might have been nice if the author linked to the “20 promises”. Or the text of Project 2025 itself.
But he didn’t. Only two links in the article as of 7/8/24 5:18pm EDT.
One goes to Trump fundraising. Yep, I clicked it and up popped up a select menu with the text on it “Political Prisoner” and “Stand with Trump”. You have six choices of donation amount including $20.24 and $47.
The other link, link text “Project 2025”, just goes to another Florida Politics story somewhat about Project 2025.
I’m betting that Trump’s 20 promises don’t vary substantially from stuff in Project 2025 by any considerable amount.
Remember, that’s the Project 2025 that Trump said, on his own Truth Social, on July 5th, 2024 at 11:29am:
“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it”
That’s just a straight up lie. Oh, Trump didn’t write Project 2025, and he certainly hasn’t read it, but he most certainly knows about it and he knows many, many people involved in creating or supporting it including Stephen Miller and Karoline Leavitt, his current national press secretary for the campaign.
There’s no question Trump if elected, will do as much of Project 2025 as he can do.
Which is why I will not be voting for him.
My Take
July 8, 2024 at 11:38 pm
Fond of FASCISM?
Vote Trump
He’s got the plan.
2025
Tjb
July 9, 2024 at 11:50 am
The republicans are talking about saving us from inflation…looks like the Biden administration has done a great jobs reducing inflation . What are the republicans going to do differently?
MH/Duuuval
July 9, 2024 at 5:46 pm
Two possible MAGA approaches to inflation: One, make the economy a command economy per Putin; two, whisper gently to the corpoarte gougers to take their feet off of consumers’ necks.
Javier
July 9, 2024 at 7:07 pm
If you want to read the whole thing you can look it up online and it’s posted on the RNC website. If FP links to that then they get called toadies so you can look it up yourself. If people are concerned then they should read the whole 16 page RNC document and I challenge everyone to read the Project 2025 manifesto on Heritage website. If you don’t care, then you don’t care. If people are going to be upset about something then it’s worthwhile to actually read the source things instead of just what other people are saying. Not telling anyone what to do but I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, so I went and read the stuff and was like, oh yeah, they’ve been talking about this stuff since the 80’s. It’s not a gang of secret ninjas set to deploy at night and suffocate people in their sleep. It’s the same stuff the debate nerds were arguing about when I was in school. Ok. Good luck with that.
MH/Duuuval
July 10, 2024 at 12:56 pm
The ninjas were in Arizona for the 2020 recount — and word is they won’t be invited back.
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