Protection of life and the definition of marriage, strongly addressed in previous GOP platforms, were significantly watered down in the revised platform. There was no mention of a need for congressional action on the abortion issue, fetal tissue research, or mention of God bestowing the right to life.
Still, there was a lot of good in the messaging delivered in each night’s speeches, David Closson, the Family Research Council’s director for the Center for Biblical Worldview, said on Washington Watch Friday.
“Hearing the former president recount a failed assassination attempt, that’s probably a first in American history … at a convention, days removed from what could have taken his life, him recounting that,” Closson told show host Jody Hice.
Trump indicated his convention speech would be the only time he would talk about the assassination attempt in that way. He was a little emotional in a back-and-forth with the audience.
“When he said his administration will not allow biological men to compete against women in sports, that actually got one of the loudest applause lines during the second half of the speech. [There was] so much to commend in the speech. It was an historic moment,” Closson said.
But a lot was missing from previous convention speeches, he added. “I’m profoundly disappointed that the Trump campaign – and it was driven by the Trump campaign, according to all reporting – decided to really whittle down the GOP platform,” Closson said.
“I understand why for political reasons the campaign wants to walk some of that back, but words matter; and frankly, eight years ago when President Trump won in 2016, an overwhelming number of people said one of the reasons they voted for the then-newcomer was because of the strong language of the Republican platform,” he said.
But even with less emphasis on the social issues, the FRC center director argued Republicans are vastly different from the Democratic Party and its push for abortion without limits.
Focus on the border fiasco
Biden’s open southern border – specifically, securing it – is one of the most prominent themes in the new platform. Various convention speakers called for mass deportations, and the convention’s theme on Tuesday was “Make America Safe Once Again.”
Closson said Trump did a good job of drawing attention to the border issue.
“As Christians we’re the first to affirm that all people are made in God’s image. All people have value and dignity and worth, but what we’ve seen over the last 3½ years under the Biden-Harris administration has been unbelievable crime and unbelievable [numbers of] people pouring over the border and the threats from that to American citizens,” he explained.
The Democrats will likely highlight abortion even more if Vice President Kamala Harris becomes their nominee in the wake of President Joe Biden’s abrupt departure from the race Sunday.
“Marriage and abortion – if you don’t have the right to life, that’s the most foundational right. The issue of life, the sanctity of human life, the fact that all of us are made in God’s image, that’s not an issue of left or right, progressive or conservative. This is a deeply biblical, theological issue,” Closson argued.
It’s been nine years since the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry. If time has healed the wounds for those who opposed that ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, look around, Closson says.
“We’ve seen now nine years of same-sex marriage being imposed on all 50 states, and the slippery slope’s a lot more slippery than many of us believed even nine years ago,” he said.
After Obergefell, Americans find themselves challenged by biological men competing in women’s sports, as Trump mentioned, but also a push by the Left to provide gender-manipulation procedures for minors and to keep parents in the dark when their kids are struggling with gender questions at school.
“These are issues that biblical Christians are going to continue to fight for no matter what the political parties do,” Closson said.
Holding the GOP accountable
Without strong backing from the platform, it's more important for Christians to engage, Closson said. “It’s up to us now to hold the campaign accountable and, if President Trump wins, to stand for the issues that he did steadfastly support during his first term,” he urged.
While monitoring events and raising voices, Christians also need to be active in prayer, much as they were in the days surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health which overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.
“I remember when the Dobbs decision [was before the Court]; the leak happened, and Christians fervently prayed for those six weeks like I’d never seen before. Over the next four months, we need to have that same intensity, praying for God’s will and that his hand will be on our country. We need to be praying for President Trump and everyone running for elective office,” Closson said.
