"... The GOP platform is an obvious bait and switch, and it doesn’t even try very hard to hide the switch. As the writer Jessica Valenti notes, 'The platform doesn’t change a single thing about what Trump would do if elected, nor does it mean that there’s an actual rift between his campaign and the anti-abortion movement. This is political theater, and the mainstream press is handing out programs.' The GOP platform on abortion does not show Trump or the GOP 'softening' or shifting on abortion rights; it shows them trying to avoid the political consequences of their position on the matter by hiding them in plain sight.
"It
has been clear from the beginning that Trump regards abortion rights as
a political vulnerability for Republicans and would seek to seem
moderate on the issue, just as it’s clear that the anti-abortion camp
understands that Trump will do its bidding when in office, as he did
last time. One reason he may get the chance is mainstream press
organizations’ embracing the narrative of Trump as an abortion
moderate—despite all available evidence to the contrary." (our emphasis)-- Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, telling the media to "Stop Soft- Pedaling the GOP's Extreme Positions." Serwer notes earlier in his article the many examples of the media (NYT, WaPo, NBC News, etc.) falling for the MAGAt spin on its radical abortion platform, cloaking it as a "moderation" when anyone other than a credulous (or biased) news organization would see it for what it is: a cynical effort to dilute the toxicity of the MAGAt Republican cult's real reproductive freedom agenda.
