Trump disavows ‘abysmal’ hard-right ‘Project 2025’ agenda for second term pushed by conservative think tank

Former President Donald Trump blasted a prospective policy agenda put forward by the conservative Heritage Foundation Friday, calling their plans “abysmal” and saying he has “nothing to do with them.”

Project 2025, a collaboration of dozens of right-wing groups organized by Heritage, says it is meant to “get into the business of restoring this country through the combination of the right policies and well-trained people.”

The project’s output includes a “180-day playbook” for the first six months of a new presidential administration — with proposed policies that have caused an uproar among liberals, including restrictions on immigration and abortion as well as shrinking the federal bureaucracy.

President Biden’s campaign has repeatedly alleged that Trump is running on the playbook’s agenda, and that he would implement it if he gained power.

“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” Trump posted on Truth Social in his first public remarks about the initiative.

“I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them,” the 45th president added.

Donald Trump speaks during his campaign rally at Sunset Park on June 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Getty Images

Trump’s comments come days after Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts issued a warning about the state of the country.

“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless—if the left allows it to be,” Roberts said Tuesday on Real America’s Voice.

Project 2025 promptly responded to Trump’s remarks in a post on X Friday, saying they do not speak directly for the former president.

Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation, speaks at the National Religious Broadcasters convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center Feb. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. AP

“As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign. We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy & personnel recommendations for the next conservative president,” the group said in their statement.

“But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement,” the post added before concluding with a pointed shot at the White House.

“Rather than obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden campaign should be addressing the 25th Amendment,” the statement added.

Protesters stand near Central Park calling to stop project 2025 on account of its abortion policies on May 18, 2024. ZUMAPRESS.com

Project 2025 has published a book that provides a roadmap for reshaping every federal agency, called Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.

The book features some former Trump officials, including former acting deputy Homelland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, former deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn and former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.

The suggestions in the book include restoring “the family as the centerpiece of American life,” outlawing pornography, closing the border, ending economic engagement with China, firing “nonperforming” federal employees, and using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep data on abortions.

One Project 2025 protester holds a sign reading ‘Is it fascism yet?’ ZUMAPRESS.com

“Accurate and reliable statistical data about abortion, abortion survivors, and abortion-related maternal deaths are essential to timely, reliable public health and policy analysis,” the book reads.

Roberts has said that the project is “on pace” to have recruited and trained 20,000 conservative applicants who could fill a future Trump administration.

Project 2025 did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Post.

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