One takeaway from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week is how former President Donald Trump remade the party in his image.
The platform is the guiding document for the political party. This year it emphasizes strict immigration measures and industrial policy meant to boost American workers. It deemphasizes social conservative policies on abortion and traditional marriage compared to past documents.
When the president of the Teamsters union walked onto the convention stage for a key speaking slot Monday night, it signaled the Grand Old Party was changing.
The top planks call for policies to stop people crossing into the country illegally including a historic deportation effort to find people here without status and return them to their home countries. Delegates from Texas Tuesday told NBC 5 many believe the black market labor undercuts pay for citizens.
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“What the voter is interested in today is what the man on the street wants," said Adolpho Telles, a delegate from El Paso.
For him, the platform is a sign the party is becoming skeptical of unlimited free trade, which made corporate executives a bunch of money but hollowed out parts of the working class.
“We sell things cheaper to other countries and they use it to take action against us. That needs to end," said Telles.
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“Yes, the party is changing. There’s already significant shifts in Hispanic and Black voters, we’re not just talking about it," said Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt, a delegate from Houston. He believes the focus on working-class jobs will make the party more diverse.
“It is a populist message but it’s based on popular recognition of the obvious - where am I at economically," said Sen. Bettencourt.
Some things - however - have not changed in the platform, Bettencourt said, like encouraging more oil and gas production.
The most obvious example of change however is the platform's language on abortion, stating it should be left up to the individual states, removing many mentions of when life begins and long-term goals for the "pro-life" movement.
Jonathan Saenz is a delegate from Central Texas and advocates for Christian conservative causes.
“We realize that not everything is going to be in there," said Saenz, "Roe vs. Wade was overturned two years. The pro-life movement is very strong and moving forward. And with JD Vance, he’s the vice presidential pick, he’s a very strong pro-life supporter. People feel real good about that and if we need to make some tweaks to the platform that’s for another day.”
Democrats argue the shift is mostly talk and points to the former president's three Supreme Court appointments who helped overturn Roe vs. Wade, the national right to an abortion.
However, the convention is filled with talk about the political realignment around Trump and his new running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.
