Donald Trump Criticizes Republicans’ ‘Ridiculous’ Policies

Former President Donald Trump has criticized “ridiculous” policies that have been adopted by Republicans in the past.

Trump is facing criticism from some conservatives ahead of the Republican National Convention, which is set to begin Monday in Wisconsin, a key battleground state in the November election. Some on the right have raised concerns about the Republican Party’s official platform and its less rigid positions on some social issues.

The official platform, adopted this week, does not include language about same-sex marriage, long opposed by the GOP, and calls for leaving abortion up to the states rather than for a federal ban on the procedure, which has been pushed by some conservative lawmakers.

During an interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Wednesday, Trump was pressed about why his platform takes a softer stance on these issues.

“For the first time, no nationwide ban on abortion,” Kilmeade said. “For the first time in 40 years. IVF is OK with you. No mention of traditional marriage because, I guess…you’re pulling back on that a little. It seems as though this is something that’s targeting moderates. What was your approach to this platform?”

Trump responded that the platform isn’t intended to target moderate voters, some of whom may still be undecided about the two presidential candidates and could determine the outcome of the race.

“Well, it’s not targeting moderates. It’s common sense,” Trump said. “They basically had, in some cases, gay bans. I don’t want that. It’s not what we’re about. They had other things that are ridiculous. The abortion issue is much simplified right now because I brought it out by getting rid of Roe v. Wade. That was an incredible thing.”

The former president continued touting his administration’s success in the overturning of Roe, which ended the constitutional right to an abortion. He appointed three justices to the Supreme Court who were crucial to its ruling against Roe in 2022.

Trump also described the overturning of Roe as a “great service,” adding that states’ votes on the issue have been “turning out very liberal.”

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

Trump has faced questions about how he would approach these issues if he returns to the Oval Office next year.

Meanwhile, Democrats have sounded the alarm about Project 2025, a 900-page document created by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, that presents policy proposals for a future GOP administration. The project advocates for the reversal of federal protections for reproductive rights and includes measures to restrict LGBTQ+ rights nationally.

Trump, however, has sought to distance himself from the project, saying that he doesn’t agree with all of its proposals and that some are “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” Project 2025 was created by and has received the support of many Trump supporters, and his comments have done little to quell concerns about the project.

Meanwhile, some conservatives have taken issue with Trump’s approach to these social issues.

“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,” former Vice President Mike Pence wrote in a post to X (formerly Twitter).