“Project 2025” is a 900-page blueprint designed to guide Donald Trump’s potential second term if he is re-elected. Initially unveiled by the Heritage Foundation in April last year, Trump had no issues with it while seeking the Republican nomination. However, as the nation shifts its focus to the general election, Trump is now distancing himself from Project 2025, likely due to its extreme nature, which could alienate independents and moderates. Trump claims he has “no idea who is behind” Project 2025, a statement that adds to his long list of falsehoods.
The Project 2025 playbook was crafted by over 20 officials appointed by Trump during his first term. If Trump genuinely has “no idea” who they are, it raises concerns about his cognitive abilities. Key figures behind Project 2025 include Russ Vought, Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, and John McEntee, a top White House aide during Trump’s first term. Even the national press secretary for Trump’s campaign appears in the Project 2025 recruitment video.
Trump’s disavowal of Project 2025 is puzzling. As former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele pointed out, it’s illogical to “disagree” with something you claim to know nothing about. Trump may also be concerned that the Heritage Foundation’s president, Kevin Roberts, could alarm independents and moderates. Roberts recently suggested that the U.S. is undergoing a “second American Revolution,” which could turn violent if the left resists.
Despite Trump’s attempts to distance himself, his campaign platform aligns closely with Project 2025. The Make America Great Again PAC is running ads calling it “Trump’s Project 2025” and has even created a website, TrumpProject2025.com. Trump has publicly praised the Heritage Foundation, emphasizing his need for their support to achieve his goals.
The relationship between Trump and the Heritage Foundation is longstanding. In 2018, the Heritage Foundation boasted that Trump had implemented two-thirds of their policy recommendations in his first year, more than any other president. The goals of Project 2025 mirror those Trump pursued during his first term and continues to advocate for in his current campaign.
One of the primary objectives of Project 2025 is to purge government agencies of anyone more loyal to the Constitution than to Trump. This process began in October 2020 when Trump believed he would remain in office. Project 2025 also aims to cater to right-wing evangelical Christians by withdrawing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market, expelling trans service members from the military, banning gender-affirming care for young people, ending diversity programs, and using “school choice” to undermine public education.
Additionally, Project 2025 seeks to eliminate “woke propaganda” from all laws and federal regulations, targeting terms like “sexual orientation,” “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” “gender equality,” and “reproductive rights.” Other elements of the blueprint include mass arrests and deportations of undocumented people, ending worker protections, dropping prosecutions of far-right militias, and providing further tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy.
Trump has consistently dismissed climate change as a “hoax,” and Project 2025 reflects this stance by advocating for expanded oil drilling, reducing the geographic footprint of national monuments, terminating clean energy incentives, and ending fossil fuel regulations. The blueprint also calls for prosecuting district attorneys Trump dislikes and taking over law enforcement in blue cities and states.
In essence, Project 2025 is a detailed plan to implement Trump’s vision if he is re-elected. While Trump may try to distance himself from it to appear more palatable to independents and moderates, he cannot escape the fact that the document embodies his core beliefs and objectives.
Robert Reich, a former U.S. Secretary of Labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of several books, including “Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few” and “The Common Good.” His latest book, “The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It,” is available now. He is also a columnist for Guardian US.
Source: Robert Reich, Berry Craig, Alex DiFrancesco
