Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday declared Project 2025 dead, as it sought to put distance between itself and a conservative idea that has turned into a political problem for the GOP.
Democrats had said the collection of ideas, ranging from good-government proposals to far-right thoughts about reshaping the Executive Branch, was a road map for what a second Trump term would look like.
But his campaign said Project 2025, orchestrated by the Heritage Foundation and a coalition of other conservative groups, was never a Trump campaign product.
“President Trump’s campaign has been very clear for over a year that Project 2025 had nothing to do with the campaign, did not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or the President in any way,” said Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, the campaign’s senior advisers.
“Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you,” the two added.
The statement came after The Washington Post reported that the office that served as the nerve center for the project was winding down.
Mr. Trump has in recent weeks said he knows nothing about Project 2025, though some of his allies have been instrumental in crafting proposals that have ended up in a 900-page roadmap produced by the effort.
The Trump officials walked a tight rope between celebrating the end of the project, and trying to disassociate themselves from its entire existence.
The campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris sign it won’t make it easy for Mr. Trump to try to put the matter behind him.
“Project 2025 is on the ballot because Donald Trump is on the ballot. This is his agenda, written by his allies, for Donald Trump to inflict on our country,” said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Ms. Harris’s campaign manager. “Hiding the 920-page blueprint from the American people doesn’t make it less real — in fact, it should make voters more concerned about what else Trump and his allies are hiding.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.