The Right-Wing Manifesto Project 2025 Is as Real as It Is Terrifying
Republican conservatives have drawn up a plan to dismantle the United States government that is so radical it will leave many questioning if it’s real. Unfortunately, Project 2025 is a genuine plan constructed by prominent conservative organizations.
The upcoming 2024 Presidential Election has garnered much interest as it will see Joe Biden and Donald Trump each competing for a second term of presidency. The fact that Trump is the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee has stirred much concern, considering the former president is now a convicted criminal. Additionally, many fear the potential for violence after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol when he lost the last election to Biden.
The biggest fear, though, is what America will look like under another Trump presidency. In a country where conservatives have already successfully overturned Roe v. Wade, banned and censored thousands of books in schools, and are eager to take away women’s access to birth control and divorce, there is good cause for concern regarding what else Trump and his emboldened followers will do if they win the election.
Unfortunately, we already have a glimpse at what a Republican victory in the 2024 election could look like, and it’s terrifying.
What is Project 2025?
Project 2025 is a 1,000-page far-right manifesto detailing plans to fundamentally transform the American government. It is led by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, which recruited many former Trump officials to author chapters of the plan and received support from over 100 conservative organizations.
Republicans realize that Trump was limited by the government’s system of checks and balances during his initial presidency. Now they seek to create a new system where the far-right agenda can be enforced without opposition. One major part of their plan includes reinstating the Trump-era executive order Schedule F, which would strip tens of thousands of federal workers of civil protections and make it easier for them to be fired and replaced with Trump loyalists. Project 2025 has even already constructed a training academy to ensure they have an army of vetted Americans prepared to serve Trump after the federal government is gutted.
Schedule F is just the tip of the iceberg, as the manifesto also calls for the complete elimination of the Department of Education, limiting federal education policies, and national book bans. It also seeks to strip federal protections from the LGBTQ+ community, undo Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, enact a nationwide total ban on abortion, and even aims to ban a whole slate of words, such as “diversity,” “gender,” and “abortion” from the government, schools, and every existing piece of legislation. The project also wants to give the Trump administration the ability to control what the FBI investigates, overhaul the Department of Justice, and increase and expedite usage of the death penalty.
Essentially, the dystopian manifesto details how the Republican party will radically change the government and significantly impact the rights and freedom of all Americans to push the conservative agenda in every aspect of the country.
Will Project 2025 actually be implemented?
Project 2025 is real in the sense that it is a legitimate manifesto that has the backing of a large portion of conservatives in the country. Although it exists, some remain skeptical about how likely Project 2025 is to be implemented if the Republicans win the 2024 election. Given the extremism detailed in the plan, the Trump presidential campaign has not publicly aligned itself with Project 2025. It’s also worth noting that Project 2025 was constructed to go into effect if any suitable Republican candidate won the 2024 election, so it’s not exclusive to a Trump presidency.
Trump has instead formulated his own plan for the presidency called Agenda 47. However, Agenda 47 shares many themes with Project 2025, including elevating the president’s power, enforcing the death penalty for drug dealers, utilizing the National Guard in liberal-led cities, and cracking down on undocumented immigrants. There are also points of disagreement, though, as Trump has claimed he will not back a nationwide abortion ban as the manifesto seeks.
At the same time, Project 2025 has a strong presence of former Trump officials. In fact, many of Trump’s former top officials, including Johnny McEntee, Stephen Miller, Roger Severino, Gene Hamilton, Mark Meadows, and many more, have backed or written chapters for the plan. Given that some of these officials were his closest advisors and aids, it’s not too far out there to assume that many of the biggest players behind Project 2025 will have roles and influence in the potential Trump 2024 administration. As mentioned above, the project has earned backing from over 100 prominent conservative organizations and figures. It isn’t the work of a few radicals, but instead, it has become more like a major movement within the conservative party.
Although Trump isn’t explicitly endorsing Project 2025, the whole manifesto is very Trump-coded. Even without knowing if or how much of Project 2025 the Trump administration could enact, it’s very concerning that this manifesto exists in any capacity. One of America’s major political parties should not have a highly backed and detailed plan to dismantle the country’s government and essentially end democracy if they get into office.
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