Former President Trump on Friday sought to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, claiming he had nothing to do with the project and that parts of it are “totally ridiculous and terrible.”
Trump denied the effort in a post on Truth Social, saying he didn’t know who was behind the effort, which offers recommendations for how a future Republican president should begin implementing conservative reforms once in office.
“I don’t know anything about Project 2025. I don’t know who is behind it.” Trump wrote. “I don’t agree with some of the things they say and some of the things they say are just completely ridiculous and awful. I wish them the best of luck in whatever they do, but I have nothing to do with them.”
It was laid out as a blueprint for how a future Republican administration could restructure much of the U.S. government. Project 2025The project, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, will begin in April 2023 and is not affiliated with the Trump campaign.
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Former President Trump spoke at a campaign rally at the Liacoras Center in Philadelphia on June 22, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“As we have said for over two years, Project 2025 does not represent any particular candidate or campaign,” a Project 2025 spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked about Trump’s comments. “We are a coalition of over 110 conservative organizations providing policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president.”
“But ultimately it will be up to the president, likely to be Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”
Trump’s decision to distance himself from Project 2025 came a day after Heritage Foundation Chairman Kevin Roberts drew criticism from Democrats after talking about a “Second American Revolution” on former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s radio show.
“[W]”We are in the process of a second American revolution, and it will remain bloodless if the left allows it,” Roberts said, adding that the “radical left” is outraged because “our side is winning.”
From reforming the Department of Justice and the FBI to tackling issues like abortion and immigration, efforts led by some of the nation’s leading conservative think tanks are outlined in separate chapters for each agency.
Several chapters in Project 2025 were written with the help of former Trump administration officials. For example, Department of Homeland Security The report was written by a team led by Ken Cuccinelli, a former acting assistant secretary of Homeland Security, who found that the department had become “bloated, bureaucratic, expensive and [has] We lost sight of the priorities of our mission.”
Project 2025 has been used by the Biden campaign and other Democrats to target Trump’s candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
Project 2025 has been used by President Biden’s reelection campaign and other Democrats to target Trump’s candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. (Getty Images)
Ahead of last week’s debate, the Biden campaign projected QR codes at various locations around Atlanta, linking them to their campaign page. Project 2025 To Mr. Trump.
The Biden campaign described the effort as “a plan by Donald Trump’s MAGA Republican allies to give him power over the daily lives of Americans, destroy democratic checks and balances, and consolidate power in the Oval Office if Trump wins.”
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“This was written by Trump’s campaign advisers and aides, all working to ensure that Trump wins and puts their plan into action immediately,” the webpage said.
Among many other claims, the Biden campaign argued that Project 2025 would “repeal the Constitution,” “take away reproductive freedom across the country,” and “strengthen the power of the Oval Office.”
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Project 2025 accused the Biden campaign of being “obsessed” with the effort.
“Instead of obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden team should focus on the 25th Amendment,” the spokesperson said.
Other Democrats have also sharply criticized the proposals outlined in Project 2025, including Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pennsylvania), who called the plan’s support for America First ideals “un-American.”
“That’s really un-American,” Dean said during an appearance on “MSNBC Reports” last month. “When you really think about it, we’re a proud institution that supports elected officials and government officials who legislate for the executive power of the president.”
Dean also alleged that Project 2025 organizers want to “replace public servants.”
Trump’s decision to distance himself from Project 2025 came a day after Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts came under fire from Democrats for comments he made about a “Second American Revolution.” (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Despite the proposals outlined in Project 2025, President Trump has outlined plans to restructure the government if elected to a second term, including conducting the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and possibly imposing tariffs on all imports.
The Trump campaign has previously warned outside allies that they do not intend to speak for the former president and suggested efforts to wait out the transition would be futile.
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Project 2025 includes several former senior Trump administration officials, including the project’s director, Paul Danz, who served as chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management under the Trump administration; Russ Vought, who wrote one of the project’s chapters and served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Trump administration; and John McEntee, a senior adviser to the project who served as director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel under the Trump administration.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
