Two years ago, some right-wing media figures — most notably, author Ann Coulter — viewed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the future of the Republican Party and claimed that Donald Trump's influence had seriously declined. But in fact, Trump's stranglehold on the GOP grew even stronger.
Trump increased his influence not only on the Republican National Committee (RNC), but also, on the official 2024 GOP platform.
In a New York Times article published on July 18, reporters Jonathan Swan, Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman detail Trump's campaign to dictate that platform.
"It was the ruthless efficiency of a process months in the making that squelched, silenced or steamrolled any forces who might oppose Mr. Trump," the reporters explain. "The result was the latest evidence of the political maturation of Mr. Trump and his operation."
Trump, according to Swan, Goldmacher and Haberman, was a total micromanager during the process of crafting the platform and "made clear to his team that he wanted the 2024 platform to be his and his alone."
Longtime Republican Gayle Ruzicka, who has served on several platform committees, is critical of the way the process was handled this time.
The Times journalists report that Ruzicka "said the participants had been told" one evening "that there would be subcommittee meetings" — but "instead, she said, delegates were handed what they were told was a draft on Monday."
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Ruzicka, they add, "said that after roughly two hours and no amendments considered, the draft was ratified in full."
Ruzicka told the Times, "It was not honest, and that was what bothered me."
Tabitha Walter, executive director of Eagle Forum — the anti-feminist Religious Right group founded by the late Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 — is also highly critical of the way the platform was handled. And she said one woman in particular hounded her.
"Anywhere I would go get coffee and go to the bathroom, she would follow me around," Walter told the Times. "Any time I would take notes, she would read them."
Walter complained that the platform process "felt very hostile" and even compared it to "strong-arming."
According to Swan, Goldmacher and Haberman, Arizona State Rep. Alex Kolodin (one of the Republican delegates) "brought a laptop and printer" during a platform meeting — before "there was a quick vote to confiscate those and any other electronics."
"Mr. Kolodin said he had submitted ideas to the Trump team before the platform committee meeting but did not realize those gathered would have no actual say in the final document," the Times journalists report.
Kolodin told the Times, "This is all for show…. We all would have felt more respected by that upfront approach."
At that meeting, according to Swan, Goldmacher and Haberman, attendees "handed over their phones to party officials, who sealed them in the magnetic pouches."
"Mr. Trump and party operatives were allowed to keep their devices," the Times reporters note. "Only delegates and guests were denied the ability to communicate with the outside world
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Read the New York Times' full report at this link (subscription required).
