Project 2025 and Libraries (Part 4)
This final installment of this series looks at the ideological hubris and ignominy that follows when your plan for a “second American Revolution” has less widespread appeal than you expected.
This final installment of this series looks at the ideological hubris and ignominy that follows when your plan for a “second American Revolution” has less widespread appeal than you expected. Once you’ve said the quiet part out loud, even if there are denials that are less than picture perfect, a strong history of connections, and evidence that you’ve hired all the right people, it’s hard to stop doubling down.
EveryLibrary Institute released a report outlining the potential impact of Project 2025 on libraries. How Will Project 2025 Impact Libraries details the plans to eliminate the Department of Education and cut Federal funding—including the only source of funding for school and public libraries, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Book bans, efforts to criminalize librarianship, which are being tested in some states, and the elimination of protections under Title I, Title XI, and the Civil Rights Act are just some of the concerns of library advocates.
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Getting High on Your Own Gadfly—“Revolution,” the RNC, Repudiation, Staying Relevant
Project 2025 began picking up increasingly negative vibes as more people read the 922-page tome, as organizations broke down its impact, and as more people started to speak out against it. But a clarion call from the President of the Heritage Foundation, more than a year after its release, appears to have said the quiet part out loud in a July 2024, interview on “The War Room” podcast. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, no doubt emboldened by his close associations to the former president, the vice-presidential nominee, and the Trump campaign, as well as his “depth and stature within the American Right,” and the Supreme Court’s decision on Presidential Immunity the day before, declared:
“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
The same man who flew on Trump’s plane and was called out by the former President as he spoke about the Heritage Foundation’s agenda setting, doubled-down the next day saying:
“Americans ‘are in the process of carrying out the Second American Revolution to take power back from the elites and despotic bureaucrats.’”
The Biden campaign was quick to denounced the comments describing Roberts as someone “dreaming of a violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.” Days later Donald Trump released a statement on his social media site declaring he knows, “nothing about Project 2025,” posting:
“I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal…”
He then wished them luck and reiterated that he has, “nothing to do with them.”
Undeterred, Roberts claimed the former president’s statement was “a political tactical decision,” and praised Trump’s strategy:
“It’s a sign of a great leader who understands he is in a terrific political news cycle…and the…mischaracterization of Project 2025 has become a liability.”
In the same interview, Roberts called out the “tremendous” “overlap” between Project 2025, the Republican Party platform, and the Trump Campaign’s Agenda 47.
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The disavowals of Project 2025 continued going into the Republican National Convention where the Heritage Foundation held an off-site day-long Policy Fest. There was heavy Heritage Foundation presence at the convention, including a speaking slot for Tom Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) once touted as a future Boarder Czar and whom Trump told a rally crowd in Florida he would bring back in a second administration. Homan is a current Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellow and a Project 2025 author. During the convention, Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation were still making headlines with strong talk during the Policy Fest and by announcing that his friend JD Vance would be the vice-presidential nominee.
At some point, he did try and provide some distance when Roberts spoke to The Daily Caller saying:
“Project 2025 is a reflection of basically the entire conservative movement. It’s never intended to speak for any presidential campaign…it’s very important both for the purposes of his campaign and for those of us that lead nonprofits, to have the reminder of that distance.”
One is left to wonder whether the effort to align Project 2025 with the entire conservative movement rather than the GOP nominee or a “second American Revolution,” was due to pressure from the Trump Campaign or Heritage Foundation fears for its tax status. Social media campaigns were created in July to report the Heritage Foundation to the IRS for violating its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit.
On July 30th, less than two weeks after the convention, one head rolled. The Director of Project 2025, Paul Dans, himself a veteran of the Trump Administration who served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management stepped down, and left the Heritage Foundation prompting the Trump Campaign to declare:
“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.”
Roberts seemed undeterred by the threatening language coming from the campaign and Donald Trump’s strong disavowals. Post-Dans, Kevin Roberts announced he was taking over the project which he said will continue to “build a personnel apparatus policymakers at all levels.” Still spinning the story, Roberts indicated the distancing is good given that “they’re trying to win an election.” Giving a wink and a nod to those disavowing Project 2025, he now says that Project 2025, Agenda 47, and the RNC Platform are similar because all the organizations are conservative rather than because it’s a “masterminded plan.”
The Harris Campaign has picked up where the Biden Campaign left off, warning of the dangers of Project 2025 and highlighting the involvement of Trump allies in drafting the mandate and planning for the next Republican administration. The Trump Campaign would like to put Project 2025 behind them and keep voters from associating Trump with what are being called out as extremist views.
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However, the endless news cycle, highlighting the language of the mandate itself, the people involved, the training videos, and secret videos present formidable challenges. Excerpts from Kevin Roberts’ new book, now delayed until after the elections and given a new name, are just starting to be uncovered and criticized for their extremism.
By elevating the president of the Heritage Foundation into a conservative vanguard—one with direct ties to the former president and the vice-presidential nominee, his own YouTube show, and a taste for the spotlight—the Trump Campaign has quite a project on its hands.
The next blog series will classify the agenda (47) for libraries: A Project by Any Other Name…Project 2025, Agenda 47, and the Republican Platform…
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In this series: