The GOP is recycling its 2016 platform, which condemns the 'current president' multiple times


The 2020 Republican platform contains more than three dozen harsh references to the "current president," "current chief executive," "current administration," "current occupant" of the White House, and people "currently in control" of policy.
No, George Conway and his merry band of Never Trumpers did not infiltrate the Republican National Committee and rewrite the platform. The RNC's executive committee decided on Wednesday not to adopt a new platform for 2020, instead rolling over the one that passed in 2016, The New York Times reports. The document was written when Barack Obama was president, and in addition to condemning him, the platform supports gay-conversion therapy for teenagers and a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Republican officials are blaming North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) for the outdated platform, due to a disagreement he had with Trump over the convention. It was set to be held in Charlotte in August, but the two sides could not agree on coronavirus safety measures. On Thursday night, the RNC said official business will take place in Charlotte, but the keynote events will be held in Jacksonville, Florida.
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GOP officials told the Times it didn't make sense for 5,000 delegates to fly to Charlotte to handle party business and then go to Jacksonville for the major events, so that's why the Republican National Convention will adjourn with an outdated platform that slams the "current occupant" of the White House.
RNC member Melody Potter worked on the platform in 2016, and told the Times it's "the best one we've had in 40 years, so I'm fine with renewing it and extending it to 2024. As a matter of fact, and you can quote me on this, I think it is a ray of sunshine in this whole messy storm."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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