Pence slams RNC platform as 'a profound disappointment'

Former Vice President Mike Pence slammed the updated Republican National Committee platform Tuesday after GOP leaders abandoned explicitly endorsing a national abortion ban.

“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,” Pence said in a statement through his advocacy group Advancing American Freedom.

The RNC’s move Monday to adopt a party platform advocating for leaving abortion policy to the states reflects former President Donald Trump’s stance, which has drawn disapproval from anti-abortion groups and his former vice president, who called the policy a "slap in the face." Pence’s statement Tuesday echoes disapproval from a few delegates and prominent rank-and-file evangelicals who criticized the platform language.

Pence took aim at Trump’s leave-it-to-the-states abortion stance in the statement Tuesday — without mentioning him directly — saying that “the right to life is not only a state issue; it is a moral issue, and our party must continue to speak with moral clarity and compassion.”

Pence has been the most vocal critic of the new platform backed by his former boss and further highlights the falling out between Pence and Trump. Pence has largely kept his distance from Trump since leaving office and declined to endorse the former president in the 2024 race after running an unsuccessful bid of his own.

Last month, Pence revived his call for a nationwide abortion ban while taking an implicit shot at Trump in the process by saying that leaving abortion up to the states is “to tolerate the height of injustice.”

"Now is not the time to surrender any ground in the fight for the right to life,” Pence said Tuesday. “The 2024 platform removed historic pro-life principles that have long been the foundation of the platform.”

The updated platform is set to be finalized by a vote of the full convention body next week.

“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 said.