Trump supporters eschew formal platform at RNC

While Republican party leaders were gathering in a socially distanced ballroom in Charlotte, N.C., to nominate President Donald Trump for a second term this week, a steady stream of Trump supporters from far and near were lining up in Unity to troop through the Trump House.

The old two-story frame house outside of Latrobe that Leslie Baum Rossi transformed into a rustic red, white and blue shrine to the 45th president has become a beacon to Trump loyalists like Jeffrey and Leslie Dahl of Connellsville, who stopped for visit after a doctor’s appointment.

The Dahls — he’s 63 and she’s 61 — were Trump supporters from day one.

Unlike political scientists and consultants who questioned the GOP’s decision to forego adopting a party platform — a statement of Republican priorities for the next four years — the Dahls aren’t worried about the lapse, though Jeffry Dahl said he’d really like to hear a little bit more.

“I’d like to hear more about all the good stuff he’s done and the party’s plans for the next four years, “ Dahl said as his wife juggled an armload of Trump paraphernalia they picked up at the house located about an hour from Pittsburgh at the foot of the Laurel Highlands .

Although both party conventions have been unconventional virtual affairs, experts say the GOP’s decision to forego publishing a platform and opting to let Trump stand as its platform is a major departure from norms.

Political scientist Joseph DiSarro, chairman of the political science department at Washington and Jefferson College and a two-term Republican state committeeman, speculated that the decision was made in part to avoid any of the contentious debate that often accompanies platform votes.

“This is very unusual, but they want to project unity and strength. That is part of the strategy. But the platform is all about what the party believes. And I firmly believe Trump is dominating the party with this,” DiSarro said.

Some say it is among a growing body of evidence that the party of Lincoln is now indeed the party of Trump.

“It certainly is symbolic of Trump’s ascendance,” said Muhlenberg College pollster and political scientist Chris Borick. “The fact that you’ll forego that and just go along with whatever the president says underscores how much the party has moved away from its historical tenets to a party that is based on fidelity to the president. To say ‘hey, it’s about the president and not our stated consensual positions’ is a big departure from normal.”

‘Big list’

Rossi, who created the Trump House in 2016 and continues to work relentlessly to drum up support for the president, said that’s fine with her. She was among some 2,200 elected convention delegates who are on the outside looking in this year as 336 state and national delegates gathered in Charlotte to weigh the future of the campaign.

“I really reach more people here,” Rossi said as visitors stepped up to sign a guest book at the house on a sunny afternoon. “On Saturday, 100 people took forms home to register to vote or change parties.”

From her perspective, Trump is the platform.

“He gave us hope and told us what he was going to do. This is a continuing process. It’s a pretty big list,” Rossi said.

Her work hasn’t gone unnoticed. On Saturday, Rossi received an invitation to attend Trump’s acceptance speech in the White House Rose Garden.

‘Clear agenda’

Like Rossi, freshman Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, a fellow convention delegate whose district includes Fayette, Greene, Washington and portions of Westmoreland County, was forced to sit this one out. He says he, too, is perfectly willing to accept the president as platform.

“President Trump announced a clear agenda for his second term last night that includes important policy proposals like creating new jobs and bringing jobs back home, ending our reliance on China for critical medicines and supplies, defending our police and lowering prescription drug prices for all Americans,” Reschenthaler said in an email.

Democrats, on the other hand, have “gone great strides to hide their radical policies from the American people,” Reschenthaler said.

John Joyce, a fellow freshman Republican congressman, represents a sprawling district including portions of Westmoreland and extending east to Gettysburg. He said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as much as any platform, embody the “pro life, pro family, pro work, pro growth” values that comprise the party.

Others question whether the party is missing an opportunity to engage with voters outside of Trump’s base.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania political scientist David Chambers said it is hard to argue with the notion that, in the absence of a platform, Trump has become the party. He said in foregoing a platform, Republicans are foregoing a chance to address issues beyond those that concern his base.

Trump, he said, has transcended the party.

“What we’ve got is a president who plans to address this convention every single day. That also is unprecedented,” Chambers said. “That sends the message to me very clearly that this is the party of Donald Trump.”