Donald Trump's statements that he has "nothing" to do with the conservative Project 2025 have received further scrutiny after the think tank behind the policy plan was revealed to be hosting two events at the Republican National Convention.
The Heritage Foundation, which wrote the 900-page guideline on how the next conservative administration could overhaul the government and have federal workers replaced with Republican loyalists, has been signed on as a sponsor at the RNC in Milwaukee later this month, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Heritage Foundation is set to hold a day-long "policy fest" in Milwaukee on July 15, the first day of the convention where Trump will be confirmed as the GOP's 2024 presidential nominee. On July 17, The Heritage Foundation is listed as hosting a social event at Uncle Buck's, per the RNC's calendar.
Newsweek has contacted Heritage Foundation for comment via email.
Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, which Democrats have warned is a blueprint for how authoritarian a second Trump term could be. The former president has described some of the policies laid out by the project as "absolutely ridiculous and abysmal."
Mark Pocan, a Democratic Representative from Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District, suggested that it is "horrible news" for Trump that The Heritage Foundation will be at the RNC as the former president attempts to dismiss claims Project 2025 is linked to his campaign.
"The mask is coming off," Pocan posted on X, formerly Twitter, while sharing the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's front page about the Heritage Foundation event at the RNC.
"Project 2025 is Trump's agenda for a second term. And YOU are targeted. All of you. Get to know how you and your family will be hurt," Pocan added.
Marc Broklawski, a member of the Democratic Party of Virginia, added: "[Trump] can fake amnesia all he wants, but the mask is off and the nightmare is real.
"You can whine about debates or fight like hell, because no one is safe—not even YOU. Complacency isn't an option."
Biden Campaign senior spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told Newsweek that Trump and Project 2025 are the same.
"Donald Trump's Project 2025 team is stacked with the same extremists who helped him rip away women's freedoms, round up and deport Latinos, and undermine our democracy in his first term.
"If Trump wins this election, his Project 2025 allies will work around the clock to make sure he can go even further to ban abortion nationwide, gut Social Security and Medicare, and rule as a 'dictator on day one.'"
Trump's office has been contacted by Newsweek for comment via email.
A number of former Trump administration officials are linked to Project 2025.
Paul Dans, who serves as director of the project, was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management under Trump. John McEntee, a former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump administration, is also a senior adviser for Project 2025.
As well as dismantling the federal government, Project 2025 calls for a number of conservative policies, including introducing stricter laws on obtaining the abortion pill mifepristone. The project urges a ban on pornography, but gives a broad definition which suggests most LGBTQ+ content is pornography in nature.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: "I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it.
"The Radical Left Democrats are having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said. It is pure disinformation on their part. By now, after all of these years, everyone knows where I stand on EVERYTHING!"
In a statement on Saturday, President Joe Biden accused Trump of "trying to hide his connections" to the "extreme" Project 2025 agenda.
"The only problem? It was written for him, by those closest to him. Project 2025 should scare every single American," Biden said.
In November 2023, Trump's campaign told Axios that the proposals laid out in the previously released Agenda 47 is the "only official comprehensive and detailed look at what President Trump will do when he returns to the White House."
Project 2025 has denied they are connected to Trump's White House campaign.
"We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president," the group said.
"But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement. Rather than obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden campaign should be addressing the 25th Amendment."
07/11/2024: This article has been updated with comment from Biden Campaign senior spokesperson Sarafina Chitika.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
