Some of these conservatives are worried about Rose because of what she represents: A Republican Party that absorbs secular, pop culture norms, and trades religious conservatism for something easier. And, beyond that, these concerns dive into broader anxieties among more traditional Republicans worried about what gets left behind in a fully MAGA party: The tapered-down platform on abortion and picking a Ukraine-aid skeptic as vice president being two notable topics I’ve heard grumbled about this week.
“I don’t want to be saying you shouldn’t have Amber Rose speak, because you want to be expanding, you want to be reaching out to new converts,” as Marc Short, who formally served as Mike Pence’s chief of staff, put it. “At the same time, though, I think the choice of speakers on Monday came on the heels of significant [change] to the platform.”
“It’s just the combination of the factors, the timing, is alarming,” he added.
It’s taboo to even bring up within the party these days, but for years a defining debate between what became the “Never Trump” Republicans and those who stayed in the GOP was also how Trump’s personal qualities, including his sexual ethics, would transform their voters’ expectations. He arrived at the convention freshly convicted in a case involving hush money payments to an adult film actress, and Rose’s presence on the stage was another reminder of how Trump has changed the GOP’s relationship to secular culture.
To be clear, the defining feature of this Republican National Convention is party unity around Trump. At the convention this week, a debate over a reality TV star is ultimately just a tiny fracture.
But it’s worth keeping an eye on these little divides: They could widen after a Trump victory, when the party is no longer just focused on a critical upcoming election and can return to debating its future more openly.
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