‘It doesn’t change our approach’: RNC chair unfazed by Democrats’ ‘melting down’

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley defended changes to the GOP’s party platform, teased “surprise” speakers and shed insight into the party’s strategy to defeat President Joe Biden — or, potentially, another Democratic nominee — in a wide-ranging interview previewing next week’s convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Whatley told The Spectator that the convention, during which former president Donald Trump will officially receive the party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential race, will be about “highlighting everyday Americans.” Instead of the normal slate of approximately sixty to sixty-five speakers, this year’s convention will feature over 100, including voices like “farmers or family members or factory workers” — as Whatley described it, the convention will serve as sort of an extension of the party’s “conversations with voters” about what issues matter to them.

“You’re going to continue to see surprise speakers that are going to be coming up here,” Whatley said. “Obviously there will be elected officials that are gonna be part of that because they’ve been with President Trump since the beginning and they’re very influential voices across the Republican spectrum, but the biggest thing that we want to do is we want to highlight everyday Americans. We want to talk about the fact that elections truly have consequences for American families and American voters.”

“I think that this election cycle comes down to a, a clear contrast, right? It’s strength versus weakness, it is success versus failure,” Whatley added. “And, and we want to highlight the successes of the policies that President Trump has put in place. And we really want to talk about the strength of America.”

One aspect of the party platform — which has undergone a substantial update, mostly to trim the word count — that has gained attention is the new language regarding abortion. The party dropped its longstanding call for a national abortion ban, instead describing itself as “pro-life” but only flagging opposition to “late-term abortion” and expressing support for in-vitro fertilization and contraception. Some RNC committee members describe being “rolled” during the process to change the platform and former vice president Mike Pence called the amendments a “disappointment.” 

Whatley, however, argued the platform is still a “pro-life platform” that seeks to acknowledge the post-Roe landscape. Consistent with former president Trump’s messaging on the issue, it says that the party “proudly” stands “for families and Life” but leaves the issue on how to protect those rights up to individual states.

“This is a pro-life platform. We are very proud of the pro-life stance that we have within the Republican Party,” Whatley asserted. “It’s a pro-family platform. It’s a pro-America platform.”

“We did make some changes to the platform. They do two things. First off, they recognize on the pro-life side the fact that Roe v. Wade has been overturned — because it has. But more importantly, I think that this is a platform that reflects President Trump’s vision for America and his vision for the Republican Party. It really sets forward a plan for how to make America great again,” Whatley said. “We wanted to really truly redesign the entire platform and make a document that every Republican candidate can feel proud running on.” 

The Spectator asked Whatley if he expected the new platform to be approved unanimously at the convention. “I certainly hope so,” he offered. “We had a resounding vote among the platform committee.” 

Attendees and media are also looking for a potential vice presidential announcement; Trump said he has narrowed down his selection to four or five candidates and his campaign team promised he will publicize the final pick as early as this week. Whatley demurred when asked if he had confirmed that Trump would reveal his choice at the convention. “The president is going to make that decision and make that announcement on his timeline,” Whatley said. “We are very eager to get the announcement and be able to incorporate that into the convention.”

The RNC is seemingly unfazed by the prospect of the Democratic Party replacing Joe Biden with a different nominee as more than a dozen elected Democrats have now called on the president to step aside due to his poor debate performance and subsequent mental lapses.

“It doesn’t change our approach,” Whatley said of potentially running against a different candidate. “We need to talk about our vision, we need to talk about President Trump’s plan to restore America. Obviously, the Democrats are either going to have a dramatically weakened Joe Biden coming out of the process that he is going through right now — the party is melting down in front of the American people’s eyes — or they’re going to have to make a change and they’re gonna have somebody else come out of this process. But we are focused on making sure that we hit our marks and that our messaging is going to resonate with the American people.” 

The convention is anticipated to have a huge impact on Milwaukee. The RNC guesses there will be about $200 million pumped into the local economy and is eager to highlight its “Convention Fest,” an outdoor space for convention delegates and guests to shop from local vendors and play games or watch live performances. There are expected to be 700 media outlets and 15,000 credentialed reporters attending the convention, which also includes a separate standalone area in the media center for Wisconsin-based media, called “Wisconsin Press Road.” 

Anti-GOP activists say thousands of people will attend protests on the first day of the convention, but courts ruled that protesters may be barred from security perimeters set up around the convention site and will have to use pre-approved marching routes. Whatley said the RNC is prepared for potential disrupters.

“We have been extremely happy with the work that we’ve been doing with the Secret Service and forty-one different local law enforcement agencies to make sure that we’re going to keep everybody here safe,” he explained. “Obviously there will be protesters in Milwaukee, there’s no question about that. They do have a protest zone that will be set up.” 

Following the convention, Whatley says the RNC team, which has joined forces with the Trump campaign, will get back to focusing on the election. This includes setting up new election integrity measures, including pushing states to clean up voter rolls, enact Voter ID laws and confirm that only American citizens can vote and bulking up a group of lawyers and observers who will be deployed on Election Day to ensure “a fair, accurate, secure and transparent election cycle.” 

“We are very focused this week and next on having a world class convention and being able to use this as a platform to launch the president’s vision and message out to the American people,” Whatley said. “But as soon as this convention is over, everybody is going to get back to the work of getting out the vote and protecting the ballot.”