Republicans adopt new platform that softens abortion stance

Republican delegates adopted Monday a platform that softens the party's position on abortion and gay marriage, on the first day of their national convention.

The platform, titled "America First: A Return to Common Sense," was presented at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where former president Donald Trump was officially anointed the Republican presidential nominee.

It notably drops a call for a national ban on abortion as advocated by staunch anti-abortion activists, and adopts Trump's position of leaving the question up to the states.

The platform abandoned a reference to "traditional marriage" as being between a man and a woman.

The platform reflects Trump's hardline stance on immigration, with promises to "seal the border and stop the migrant invasion" and "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history."

On the economic front, it promises to "slash regulations," cut taxes, "end inflation" and "make America the dominant energy producer in the world."

Foreign policy pledges include restoring "peace in Europe and in the Middle East," "countering China" and building a "great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country."

"Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World," according to the platform document.

"Republicans will strengthen Alliances by ensuring that our Allies must meet their obligations to invest in our Common Defense," it said, apparently referring to the NATO alliance, which Trump has long seen as an unfair burden on the United States.

"We will stand with Israel, and seek peace in the Middle East," it continued.

"Only President Trump can restore our economy, restore our Southern Border, and restore America's standing in the world," Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley and RNC co-chair Lara Trump said in an earlier statement.

"His 2024 Republican Party Platform is a bold roadmap that will undo the devastating damage that Joe Biden's far-left policies have done to this country, power President Trump to a historic victory in November, and Make America Great Again," the statement added.

But climate group Evergreen Action cautioned in a statement that the platform does not mention climate or clean energy.

Evergreen Action executive director Lena Moffitt warned that while Americans experience the effects of climate change, the party "has adopted a platform that would make this crisis worse."