Trump Wants RNC to Update Platform for 2020 Amid 2016 Carryover Flap

President Donald Trump said Friday he wants the Republican National Committee to update the party’s platform for the 2020 election campaign, in response to reports the RNC executive committee voted Thursday to leave the GOP’s manifesto unchanged from what it used in 2016, including on tech and telecom. The executive committee passed rules for its planned August convention in Charlotte that limit the number of delegates in attendance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RNC decided to move other major parts of the convention to Jacksonville after Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was unable to guarantee high-attendance gatherings could happen amid the pandemic. RNC rules say if the national convention isn’t able to fully convene in the convention city, then only roll call votes for the presidential and vice presidential nominees can occur. That would in effect bar the RNC from updating its platform for 2020. The 2016 one includes language on cybersecurity and privacy issues (see 1607270061). “The Republican Party has not yet voted on a Platform,” Trump tweeted. “No rush. I prefer a new and updated Platform, short form, if possible.” Republicans “intend to advance policies that protect data privacy while fostering innovation and growth and ensuring the free flow of data across borders” and “our agenda includes balanced protections for intellectual property,” the 2016 platform said. “We intend to facilitate access to spectrum by paving the way for high-speed, next-generation broadband deployment and competition on the internet and for internet services. We want government to encourage the sharing economy and on-demand platforms to compete in an open market, and we believe public policies should encourage the innovation and competition that are essential for an Internet of Things to thrive.” That platform criticized President Barack Obama’s administration for doing “little to advance our goal of universal broadband coverage.”