Donald Trump on Friday sought to distance himself from a closely-aligned conservative group’s plans to radically reshape the federal government and American life should the former president win a second term.

In a post to his social media site, Trump claimed, “I know nothing about Project 2025,” the name given to a playbook crafted by the Heritage Foundation to fill the executive branch with thousands of Trump loyalists and reorient its many agencies’ missions around conservative ideals.

“I have no idea who is behind it,” Trump continued on Truth Social. “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.”

. . . Trump’s campaign has sought for months to make clear that Project 2025 is not its official policy platform amid an intensifying effort by President Joe Biden and Democrats to tie Trump to its more controversial policies.

Yet those efforts are complicated by Trump’s extremely close relationship with many of the people who launched Project 2025 or helped contribute to it. Paul Dans, the head of Project 2025, was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management during the Trump administration, and the group’s roadmap for the next administration includes contributions from others who have worked for the former president, including

  • his former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson,
  • former acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli
  • and former deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn.
  • John McEntee, Trump’s former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office and one of his closest aides while in office, is also a senior adviser for the project.

Yeah he has NO IDEA WHO IS BEHIND IT. Odds that the demented rapist himself wrote that . . . shit? 0%.

And “Abysmal”? No. Man wouldn’t know an abyss if it bit him in the girdle.

  • TimLovesTech (AuDHD)(he/him)English
    17•5 months ago

    Trump cares about one thing, Trump. If these policies will hurt people he sees as an enemy, he’ll be all for it. He doesn’t want to run a country, or do any work, he wants to be the “strong man” at the top everyone “respects/fears”. He gives zero shits about anyone or anything besides himself. This election is 100% about getting elected to keep himself out of jail, and of course his revenge on everyone trying to hold him accountable for his ever growing crime list.

    • @ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1•5 months ago

      I’m not sure that you and I actually disagree. I’m just saying that maybe he really doesn’t know (or care much) about the ideology of Project 2025. If you asked him to explain what their policy goals are, I don’t think he would be able to. If so, he’s actually telling the truth here.

      • TimLovesTech (AuDHD)(he/him)English
        1•4 months ago

        He absolute knows about it. He has spoken at the Heritage Foundation, and Project 2025 is founded by people that were in his prior administration. It’s been all tailored to his presidency. He also knows, as does his campaign, how toxic the whole thing is - and it’s the only reason he is trying to distance himself (poorly) from it.