Donald Trump Faces Angry Republicans Week Before Convention

Former President Donald Trump is facing angry conservatives ahead of the Republican National Convention (RNC).

The RNC is set to begin next Monday, July 15, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a crucial swing state in the 2024 election, where Republican delegates are expected to nominate Trump as their official presidential nominee. The convention comes as Trump continues to hold a lead in key swing states, while Democrats publicly question whether President Joe Biden, who won most delegates in the Democratic primary, should remain their nominee amid concerns about his age.

Despite positive developments for the Trump campaign, he is still facing anger from many conservatives the week before the convention amid backlash over the Republican Party platform and speaker lineup at the convention.

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment via email.

Some conservatives have expressed outrage over the party’s platform with regards to its language on abortion, set to be a potentially decisive issue in November.

The platform, which was drafted by Trump and his team, does not include calls for a federal abortion ban, instead saying the issue should be left to the states.

The position is largely in line with what Trump has said publicly as abortion has become a sore spot from Republicans, who faced electoral losses after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that for decades guaranteed abortion rights nationwide, in 2022.

But the omission sparked backlash from conservatives who more strongly oppose reproductive rights.

Former Vice President Mike Pence wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter: “The RNC platform is a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life.”

“Now is not the time to surrender any ground in the fight for the right to life. The 2024 platform removed historic pro-life principles that have long been the foundation of the platform. I urge delegates attending next week’s Republican Convention to restore language to our party’s platform recognizing the sanctity of human life and affirming that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed,” Pence wrote.

Gayle Ruzicka, a platform committee member from Utah, told Milwaukee’s WISN12News that the campaign “rolled us.”

“I’ve never seen this happen before. I don’t understand why they did it, and I’m extremely disappointed that we do not have any pro-life language,” she said.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley defended the platform in remarks to reporters Monday night.

“We have a very solid pro-life platform. We feel very, very solid about it. I think you can just look at the number of pro-life groups from across the country that have come in and said that they strongly support this platform,” he said.

Elsewhere, the conservative organization Advancing American Freedom on Tuesday released a memo titled “Calling Balls and Strikes on the RNC Platform,” warning that it “retreats on life and global leadership, while neglecting to flesh out the Republican Party’s position on a number of issues.”

The group took issue with the platform supporting tariffs, not having a “clear plan” to address China and not sufficiently addressing Ukraine or Taiwan.

In addition to taking issue with the platform’s abortion stance, the group also raised concerns about some domestic policies including not addressing TikTok, rejecting reforms for Social Security and Medicare and its language around same-sex marriage.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, raised concerns about the process for adopting the platform. He wrote in a statement that delegates were “only given a few minutes of discussion” before debate on the platform was ended and a vote was taken.

“Unfortunately, the choreographed process—which allowed no amendments to be discussed or voted upon—was unbecoming of a party that champions free speech and due process,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, other conservatives have criticized the RNC’s speaker lineup, particularly after celebrity personality Amber Rose was confirmed as a speaker.

“Now, under the total Trump takeover of the RNC, the GOP will be represented at the convention by Amber Rose who believes in ’empowering the LGBTQ+ community’, ‘ending sexual, social injustice, derogatory labeling, and gender inequality’.”

Congressional candidate Dr. Maria Peiro then challenged Trump supporters, asking: “Conservatives who voted for Trump in the primary, how do you like being represented by a woke, pro-trans, socialist at the GOP convention?”

Others noted that high-profile Republicans who challenged Trump for the nomination, like former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are absent from the convention.

“George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Liz Cheney, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis weren’t invited to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week. But no worries. Rapper and model Amber Rose will give a speech,” posted the X account Republicans Against Trump.