Donald Trump distanced himself Friday from Project 2025, a massive proposed overhaul of the federal government drafted by longtime allies and former officials in his administration, days after the head of the think tank responsible for the program suggested there would be a second American Revolution.
“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump posted on his social media website. “I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
Project 2025 outlines a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a plan to fire as many as 50,000 government workers to replace them with Trump loyalists. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign has worked to draw more attention to the agenda, particularly as Biden tries to keep fellow Democrats on board after his disastrous debate.
Trump has outlined his own plans to remake the government if he wins a second term, including staging the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and imposing tariffs on potentially all imports. His campaign has previously warned outside allies not to presume to speak for the former president and suggested their transition-in-waiting efforts were unhelpful.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast Tuesday that Republicans are “in the process of taking this country back." Former U.S. Rep. Dave Brat of Virginia hosted the show for Bannon, who is serving a four-month prison term.
“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” Roberts said.
Those comments were widely circulated online and blasted by the Biden campaign, which issued a statement saying Trump and his allies were "dreaming of a violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.”
Some of the people involved in Project 2025 are former senior administration officials. The project’s director is Paul Dans, who served as chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under Trump. Russ Vought, who was director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, wrote one of the chapters. John McEntee, a former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump administration, is a senior adviser.
A spokesperson for the plan said Project 2025 is not tied to a specific candidate or campaign.
“We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president," a statement said. “But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”
Biden's reelection campaign has said the plan will “gut democratic checks and balances and consolidate power in the Oval Office if he wins.”
“Trump's campaign advisors and close allies wrote it — and are doing everything they can to elect him so he can execute their playbook immediately,” the campaign says on its website.
On Thursday, as the country celebrated Independence Day and Biden prepared for his television interview after his halting debate performance, the president's campaign posted on X a shot from the dystopian TV drama “The Handmaid's Tale” showing a group of women in the show's red dresses and white hats standing in formation by a reflecting pool with a cross at the far end where the Washington Monument should be. The story revolves around women who are stripped of their identities and forced to give birth to children for other couples in a totalitarian regime.
“Fourth of July under Trump’s Project 2025,” the post said.
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
32 Comments
GuruMick
"Think Tank " and "Trump " are not terms I easily see together.
Sharks and electric boats , yes.
Moonraker
Such arrogance. This second revolution will be the decisive implementation of capitalist/corporatist totalitarianism. No other choices in life but surveillance capitalism and further dumbing down. If you want that, then you can expect further disparities in wealth and power and a quick slide into subsistence wages for the majority. Only by invoking the spectre of a supposedly intransigent left can he sell such nonsense to a working people indoctrinated by his ilk to regard left/socialist/liberal as against their own interests.
Peter Neil
everything he says is a lie, so why even report it?
bass4funk
So the left implementing a massive progressive woke big brother government dependent/Capitalist system is better?
So no Capitalism? Then what? Scamming more money from Americans going forward and giving them nothing in return?
We already see that in California, NYC, Chicago and Pennsylvania, why do you think there’s a mass exodus from these areas? When McDonald’s leaves the market you know you have a very serious problem.
He doesn’t have to do anything, the people see it with their own eyes, and the Dems proudly want to take ownership ok…
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-americans-pine-for-the-trump-economy-193757815.html
If millions believed that, Biden would be way ahead in the polls.
JJE
Biden campaign is gaslighting everyone. Reeks of desperation in the aftermath of that notorious debate malfunction.
itsonlyrocknroll
Project 2025 preposterous ludicrous agenda, would require wholesale fundamental changes to the US constitution.
Never ever going to happen.
The republicans, either senate or congress would never countenance such nonsense.
“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” Roberts said.
"looney tunes" straight to the asylum don't pass go.
Biden campaign, which issued a statement saying Trump and his allies were "dreaming of a violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.”
Deranged, it was the Biden campaign, advisors, Jill Biden that's choice, brought about a "debate" Joe Biden fell on Stoney ground to put it mildly.
Yrral
Biden ought to.put up or shut up ,this is straight up seditious conspiracy, even Grant used the Klu Klux Klan act of 1871 to prosecute White people that engage in conspiracy against freed black slaves,they are no different than they these Trump people
TokyoLiving
Second revolution... LOL
The country is falling into pieces, what a circus of arrogant clowns...
LOOOOOOL...
dagon
Most of these conservative 'think' tanks are massively corporate funded and set up in the 60's to 'right' the cultural drift which scared big business and got even stronger with the relaxation of campaign regulations and financing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/us/politics/think-tanks-research-and-corporate-lobbying.html
A bold-faced lie as the heritage Foundation have always been a part of MAGA and his first admin.
https://www.heritage.org/impact/trump-administration-embraces-heritage-foundation-policy-recommendations
I think Trump just likes to go by his whim and ego and is against too much reading. He is cutting the GOP platform too.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/29/us/politics/trump-gop-platform.html
bass4funk
Looks like it.
This is what happens when you have leaders that don’t know what they’re doing, the last 4 years was evident of that. China is going through that now. The sad this is, in that country you get what you get and that’s it.
funkymofo
If project 2025 is so awesome, why is trump denying any knowledge of it?
Yrral
Biden could easily invoke the Klu Klux Klan act of 1871 against Trump and his supporters,he now has the power given by the Supreme Court
bass4funk
NYT again….smh
And in the end, liberals benefited the most from lobbying through the years, and speaking of Nancy Pelosi….
So what’s bad about it? You seemed ok with the 1619 project, didn’t hear a whisper from you, why?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/1619-project-took-over-2020-inside-story/2020/10/13/af537092-00df-11eb-897d-3a6201d6643f_story.html
Huh?? Lol
wallace
MAGA extremists taking over the government and the Constitution. They are a threat to democracy.
Trump is now desperately trying to run from his deep ties to Project 2025... MAGA extremists' radical wish list for a second Trump term,
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-project-2025-disavowal
Congressional Leaders Form Task Force to Counter Project 2025 and Defend Democracy. Task Force designed to stop far-right government takeover outlined in ultra-conservative manifesto
https://huffman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressional-leaders-form-task-force-to-counter-project-2025-and-defend-democracy
2020hindsights
He know it full well what it is and he will implement it, but the authors have been saying the quiet part out loud and voter are appalled with it.
So now he is distancing himself.
wallace
The 1619 project did not threaten to take over the government.
"The 1619 Project is a long-form journalistic revisionist historiographical work that takes a critical view of traditionally revered figures and events in American history, including the Patriots in the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers, along with Abraham Lincoln and the Union during the Civil War."
itsonlyrocknroll
The people of American November 2024, will at the ballot box decide where and when change will be needed.
If left to do so.
Instead of creating Project 2025 transition plan after key official calls for new American Revolution fake shade, the US people if left alone, will be open free to decide.
I am astonished how Obamas, Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, can openly display there illiberal rotten core.
Joe Biden does not deserve to be treated so disgracefully, Jill Biden must have been fully aware of Joe Bidens frailties, the constant temptations of political power has no bounds.
dagon
Someone else doesn't like reading.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-campaign-memo-signals-plans-reduce-national-gop/story?id=111547663
More ridiculous MAGA false equivalence, tu quoque.
The 1619 project is the dreaded Critical Race Theory, analysis of the effects of slavery and Jim crow and an educational primer.
For MAGA minds that is the same as Project 2025 and a Christian Nationalist corporate funded putsch to create fascism , which as Mussolini said is better termed corporatism.
2020hindsights
itsonlyrocknroll
I don't think that Joe Biden is frail. But we shall see in the coming week.
bass4funk
They are definitely a threat to the liberal radical progressive movement without a doubt.
Progressive woke so-called democracy agenda, yes.
Well, I suspect Trump will wait until after the election and let the libs calm down and once he’s in overhaul this mess. This is exactly the reason why people want him in, never show you hands, the country needs to return to a state of normalcy otherwise the country will irreparable collapse, again, look at California. Newsom ran that once beautiful state into the ground, so that’s enough.
More Dem nonsense, the Dems would have to have both the House and the Senate to do anything of the sort. Yeah, whatever…lol
bass4funk
I think the left has that problem.
No, that came straight from the liberals mouths. Has nothing to do with MAGA
The 1619 project is the dreaded Critical Race Theory, analysis of the effects of slavery and Jim crow and an educational primer.
https://youtu.be/Qi3zLQCBBiw?si=umtXIJwpkLXN-EGF
As the 1619 project was created to distort history and to further divide the races. Well, that soundly failed and that’s a good thing.
owzer
Liberals get all their conspiracy theories backwards. lol
Liberals wanted to believe Russian interference was true - but it was fake.
Liberals wanted to believe the Hunter laptop was fake - but it was true.
And liberals want to believe Trump is involved in this wacky Project 2025 transition. lol
itsonlyrocknroll
2020hindsights
You are better than this.
Please have some respect for President Joe Biden.
Delusion is one thing, self delusion is simply intolerable.
Let Joe Biden retire with dignity.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Get him on the record about whether he believes porn and contraception should be illegal.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Mighty interesting that the Project 2025 nutters couldn't agree amongst themselves as to whether ten commandments and prayer in public school was a good idea.
bass4funk
Ok, so I guess on JT we can’t talk about the ramifications of illegal immigration it has on Americans, let’s pretend to not see the elephant in the room, ignore it and hope it goes away, but anyway, there’s still X.
bass4funk
I don’t think it’s a bad thing if it’s in the schools. Has nothing to do with any religion in particular, but it has a lot to do with conduct and how a person should live in society. I think that’s a good thing.
Bob Fosse
You think voting for a politician with a hidden agenda is a good idea?
Stick to sports.
WoodyLee
"“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump posted on his social media website. “I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.""
So how can Mr. Trump Disagree with some of the things they're saying when he "knows Nothing About It" !??
bass4funk
You don’t have to be religious to say….”hey, that makes sense?” To not lie is not a Christian thing, to not sleep with your brother’s wife is just common sense wouldn’t you agree? And wouldn’t the Ten Commandments be technically following Judaism since there was no Christian religion at the time? So no one is promoting any particular religion.
bass4funk
Well, the Dems should know, right?
As well. lol
Ramsey's Kitchen
*He know it full well what it is and *he will implement it,
How do you know what Trump will implement and what not....future telling reliability is doubtful.
Besides it seems this Project 2025 is way too looney even for Trump.