The Republican Party has crafted a that both shows the direct influence of its 2016 presidential candidate, Donald Trump, as well as the traditionally conservative values upon which the party is built.
The document runs about and will stand for the next four years as a statement of what the party believes.
Its foreign policy planks include pieces that directly oppose key policies of President Barack Obama.
The platformlast year to limit that country’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. It also opposes Obama’s approach to battling Islamic State militants and the easing of relations with Cuba.
Obama set a goal of settling 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. this year, which many Republicans labeled as a threat to national security. Despite assurances from the administration that the vetting process for refugees is extensive – lasting for up to two years – those fears persist.
The opposition is spelled out in the platform, which says “, especially those whose homelands have been the breeding grounds for terrorism.”
extend to the U.S. border with Mexico, where a platform statement supports Trump’s proposal to .
“The border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic,” it says, without comment on Trump’s plan for Mexico to pay for the wall.
“We will build the wall and make America safe again!" Trump tweeted after the language was added.
He also celebrated changes to a section about Israel that as its “eternal and indivisible” capital and rejects the “false notion that Israel is an occupier.”
Trump called the platform the “most pro-Israel of all time.” He also announced the creation of an advisory committee to analyze U.S. policy toward Israel and look at alternative ways to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian divide.
The platform shows under a two-state solution, as well as complaints about Israeli activities in the West Bank.
Republicans put in place and called for . The platform says free trade policies have hurt U.S. manufacturers, and it no longer has language supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership championed by Obama.
"We cannot allow China to continue its currency manipulation, exclusion of U.S. products from government purchases, and subsidization of Chinese companies to thwart American imports,” the platform says.
On issues, the committee in charge of drafting the platform rejected an attempt to include support for in the military. The platform also opposes requiring women to register for the draft.
also include a call for and a statement that “natural marriage” between a man and a woman is best for children. Republicans also want to promote state laws putting limits on which bathrooms transgender people can use.
Republican analyst Paris Dennard said the platform reflects “the disdain that Republican Party members have for some of the more liberal things that have been pushed on the country for the past eight years.”
Mainstays in the platform include and a .
Trump gave overall praise of the platform, calling many of its elements “amazing” in an interview with Fox News. But he did note that it does not perfectly align with his policies.
“I think what’s happening with the platform is very good,” he said. “Do I agree with everything? Nobody ever has.”