Trump campaign announces second-term agenda ahead of GOP convention

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump's reelection campaign announced a set of core priorities for his second term on Sunday night ahead of the 2020 Republican National Convention (RNC).

The priorities, under the banner of "Fighting for You," will focus on jobs, eradicating COVID-19, healthcare, education, immigration, innovation, foreign policy, and other areas, according to the campaign.

If reelected, Trump vows to create 10 million new jobs in 10 months, develop a vaccine against the coronavirus by the end of this year, establish permanent manned presence on the Moon, and send the first manned mission to Mars, among others.

The campaign also said Trump will continue to pursue "America First" foreign policy.

The president "will further illuminate these plans during his acceptance speech Thursday," it said. "Over the coming weeks, the president will be sharing additional details about his plans through policy-focused speeches on the campaign trail."

Trump's speech to accept the 2020 Republican presidential nomination will be delivered on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday night despite criticism that he should not use a federal property as the backdrop for a campaign event.

This year's RNC will kick off on Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over 300 delegates, a small portion of the total, will meet in person there to formally nominate Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for the 2020 Republican ticket.

The Republican National Committee said on Sunday that it "has unanimously voted to forego the Convention Committee on Platform, in appreciation of the fact that it did not want a small contingent of delegates formulating a new platform."

The committee "enthusiastically supports President Trump and continues to reject the policy positions of the Obama-Biden Administration," said a statement. "The 2020 Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention."

Party platforms are traditionally used to lay out the party and candidate's ideas, beliefs and goals. In 2016, the GOP platform was 54 pages long. This year's Democratic platform is 91 pages long.

Former US Vice President Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nominee on the final night of this year's Democratic National Convention last week.

Biden leads Trump by 7.6 percentage points nationally, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. Trump, however, has repeatedly dismissed polls showing him falling behind.