Trump Says He Has ‘Nothing to Do With’ Project 2025

‘I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,’ the former president wrote Friday.
Trump Says He Has ‘Nothing to Do With’ Project 2025
Former President Donald Trump speaks to media at Trump Tower in New York City on May 31, 2024. (Juliette Fairley/The Epoch Times)
Jack Phillips
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Former President Donald Trump on Friday distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation think tank’s Project 2025 after the leader of the think tank made comments about a “second American Revolution.”

In a Truth Social post, the former president said, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.”

“I disagree with some of the things they’re saying,” he said, adding that he believes “some of the things they’re saying” are unreasonable.

“Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them,” the former president said.

Former President Trump’s social media post was not in response to any media report, and he did not elaborate on what Project 2025 policy provisions he disagrees with.

But his comments were made about a day after Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said on Steve Bannon’s podcast that there may be a “second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

Mr. Roberts also said during the podcast that conservatives should be encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling on July 1 that found former President Trump should be declared immune from prosecution for official acts he carried out while president.

In a statement posted to X, Project 2025 wrote on Friday that it is not connected to the Trump reelection campaign.

“As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign,” the statement said, adding that it represents more than 110 conservative groups. “But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”

The Epoch Times contacted the Heritage Foundation for comment on Friday after former President Trump’s remarks.

Mr. Roberts also clarified his comments about another American Revolution in a statement to several news outlets. “These patriots are committed to peaceful revolution at the ballot box,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s the Left that has a long history of violence, so it’s up to them to allow a peaceful transfer of power.”

According to Project 2025’s website, the group outlines a plan for what conservatives need to do if a Republican, presumably former President Trump, is elected in 2024’s presidential election. The group, which includes a handful of individuals who served in the Trump administration, pitches an overhaul of the federal government, including handing more power to the executive branch.

It also asserts conservatives need to do more than just win elections and suggests that there should be a process to free U.S. institutions.

Conservatives, the group adds, “need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on Day One of the next conservative Administration.”

The Trump campaign last year also sought to downplay Project 2025’s influence and told news outlets at the time it is merely “policy recommendations from external allies” and that “none of these groups or individuals speak for President Trump or his campaign.”

Last month, former President Trump denied reports that he wanted to reinstate a military draft after one of Project 2025’s members, former Trump acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, made the suggestion.

In a Truth Social post in mid-June, the former president wrote it is a “ridiculous idea,” adding that such claims are “completely untrue” and that “I never even thought of that idea.”

However, despite those comments, the Biden campaign and his Democrat allies have attempted to tie Project 2025 to the Trump campaign—even more so after Mr. Roberts’ podcast interview this week. Soon after the former president’s statement on Friday, Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa wrote on X that the campaign believes a Trump political action committee is “running ads promoting Project 2025.”

Democrats in Congress said they have also launched an effort to circumvent Project 2025.

“It just occurred to me that this stuff is so significant and urgent that we really need to do more to spotlight it, certainly for the American people in the months ahead, but also for Congress,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told The Hill in June.
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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