Donald Trump claims that he has nothing to do with Project 2025 and has never heard of it, but a shocking number of his administration staffers and Cabinet secretaries played a part in putting together the political manifesto, CNN reports.
At least 140 people who worked for Trump while he was president were involved in putting together the 900-page playbook, including six members of his Cabinet and four of his ambassadors. The first 20 pages of the document were written by his first deputy chief of staff.
More than half of the authors, editors, and contributors to the project’s manifesto on overhauling the executive branch titled “Mandate for Leadership” were Trump administration staffers, according to CNN’s investigation. Plus, several of the groups advising Project 2025 employ former Trump officials and staffers, including Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
CNN combed through the online biographies, LinkedIn profiles, and news articles for over 1,000 people listed in the directories for the 110 organizations on Project 2025’s advisory board, in addition to the more than 200 names attached to the “Mandate for Leadership.” In total, almost 240 people have ties to both Trump and Project 2025.
The Project 2025 planning document outlines a dramatic overhaul of the federal government in line with Trump’s authoritarian aspirations, opening the floodgates for extreme policies to be enacted. The former president and convicted felon keeps trying to distance himself from the effort despite his many connections to it, giving Democrats easy lines of attack to point out his lies.
Trump seems to see associating with Project 2025 as bad for his presidential campaign even though it overlaps with his campaign promises. This could backfire on him because his repeated denials are alienating some of his most ardent supporters. The objective truth is that Project 2025 is not just a conservative wish list but also Trump’s, and he isn’t fooling anyone.
