"Project 2025" representatives said they are not concerned about former President Donald Trump's recent rebuke of their plan, NBC News reported.
Project 2025, which is the work of the Heritage Foundation, is a 900-page blueprint for conservative and right-wing ideas, featuring former members of Trump's administration. Trump has been critical of the plan on his Truth Social account, which has been the subject of attacks from Democrats.
"I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal," Trump wrote earlier this month. "Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them."
But a person at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said members weren't "overly worried" about Trump's posts, calling it a public relations gesture.
"He wants to avoid having to answer questions about anything he doesn't want to answer questions about," the unnamed person told NBC News. "Most people I know who are involved with it don't seem overly worried that this actually constitutes a repudiation and is going to mean anything on Jan. 20."
Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, said the spat over Project 2025 is akin to two siblings in a fight.
"You don't know who to side with," Schilling said. "But at the end of the day, Trump has to have his own platform, his own policy agenda. There's a lot of things in the Project 2025 agenda that I would not run on or campaign on. Ultimately, what Trump's doing is, he's just making sure people know he's independent."
Some of Project 2025's initiatives that have generated controversy, including banning pornography and dismantling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Paul Dans, the director of Project 2025, said the goal is to get people in the federal government who can advance Trump's agenda.
"We wanted to throw down the marker and say, 'You're looking for where to land, and you're searching for policy, this is going to be the sweet spot,'" Dans told NBC News. "We don't expect anybody to knock out this."
Democrats have seized on Project 2025, with the Biden campaign sending 45 press e-mails about it this month, NBC News said. The Biden campaign has also mentioned it in rallies and in social media posts.
Only 16% of voters had a favorable opinion of Project 2025, compared to 42% who had an unfavorable opinion, according to an NPR/PBS/Marist poll.
Stephen Miller, who served in the Trump administration and whose organization, America First Legal, was listed on the Project 2025 advisory board, denied any involvement.
"AFL has no involvement in Project 2025," Miller said.
America First Legal has been removed from Project 2025's website.
Sam Barron ✉
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