Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele criticized former President Trump's attempt to distance himself from the conservative governing plan known as Project 2025 on Friday.
“Ok, let’s all play with Stupid for minute... so exactly how do you 'disagree' with something you 'know nothing about' or 'have no idea' who is behind, saying or doing the thing you disagree with?" Steele wrote on the social platform X.
“Since #Project2025 is designed to institutionalize Trumpism and you know nothing about it, so why do you echo some of its policy priorities during your rallies? Coincidence?" he said, adding later, "And folks say we should be worried about [President] Biden."
The former president took to Truth Social earlier Friday to disavow the project, calling some of the objectives “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” Trump also claimed he knew “nothing about Project 2025,” and that he did not know who was behind it, but he wished them luck.
“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” the presumptive GOP nominee for the White House wrote. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”
Steele rebuked Trump’s claim, highlighting the project's links to high-ranking members of the Trump administration, including the project's director, Paul Dans, who once served as chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management, and its associate director, Spencer Chretien, Trump’s former special assistant.
Project 2025 is a 900-page outline of conservative priorities created by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, should a Republican win the White House. The list includes five main topics — “Taking the Reins of Government,” “The Common Defense,” “The General Welfare,” “The Economy” and “Independent Regulatory Agencies” — and makes a wide range of policy proposals.
Among the agenda’s priorities is reimplementing Schedule F, which would reclassify federal workers to make it easier to fire and replace them with partisan loyalists. The Associated Press reported this could affect 50,000 workers.
Steele has largely turned away from the GOP following Trump’s first term in office. In 2020, he joined the Lincoln Project PAC and endorsed Biden for president.
He was not alone in calling Trump’s statement hypocritical.
The Biden-Harris campaign took to X shortly after the former president posted, calling him “desperate and lying." The team also shared a video of Trump speaking at a Heritage Foundation event asking for the group's support — but it is unclear when the video was taken.
Project 2025 released a statement on X bolstering Trump’s remarks.
“As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign," the post reads. "We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy & personnel recommendations for the next conservative president."
“But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement," the project leaders added.
