Donald Trump’s backtracking on Project 2025 didn’t seem to fool many – aside from a few hard-line loyalists who expressed betrayal – but apparent proof of his knowledge and endorsement of the far-reaching plan further weakens his claim that he knows “nothing.”
In an April 2022 speech before the Heritage Foundation – the ultra-right group behind the 922-page policy manifesto – Trump acknowledged exactly the kind of work they’re doing and applauded them for “lay[ing] the groundwork” for his next administration.
“They’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do,” Trump said of the Heritage Foundation and their efforts to – as they describe on the Project 2025 website – “pave the way” for Trump’s next administration.
Despite the document being drafted and developed by hundreds of Trump’s campaign alumni and employees, the former president scurried to deny any connection to the proposal as it picked up mainstream attention.
“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post earlier this month. “I have no idea who is behind it,” he added, despite speaking numerous times at Heritage Foundation events.
While loyal Salon readers may remember dire warnings on Project 2025 from last year, interest around the policy package has spiked, growing tenfold since mid-June of this year.
Searches for Project 2025 have overtaken terms like “Taylor Swift” and “NFL” on Google, per the company’s trend-tracking program, as Americans learn more about the deluge of unpopular and unusual proposals for the next Trump administration.
The Biden campaign has capitalized on the newfound attention towards the proposal, publishing over a dozen posts to X referencing Project 2025 on Thursday, bringing attention to details concerning abortion monitoring, civil servant purges, and social security cuts.