Former President Donald Trump has been caught on video praising a think tank whose plans he now claims he didn’t know existed. The right-wing Heritage Foundation brought together several MAGA thought leaders from Trump’s orbit to craft their “Project 2025,” a plan to radically expand the powers of the executive branch under a potential second Trump administration.
The plan promises, among other things, to oust career civil servants in the federal government and replace them with staunch loyalists of the president. However, in a video unearthed by NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard, Trump’s speech to the Heritage Foundation reveals he knew that they were crafting the plan for him.
“This is a great group, and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do, and what your movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America,” Trump told the crowd about the Heritage Foundation. “And that’s coming. That’s coming,” Trump promised.
Now that the plan is out and drawing more public attention, Trump says he’s never heard of it. “I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump claimed on social media. “I have no idea who is behind it.” Trump reiterated the sentiment on Friday: “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.”
In a late-night rant on Wednesday, Trump continued to deny his involvement in the plan. “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well-received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it,” he wrote.
CNN conducted an extensive investigation into the online biographies, LinkedIn profiles, and news clippings for more than 1,000 people listed on published directories for the 110 organizations on Project 2025’s advisory board, as well as the 200-plus names credited with working on “Mandate for Leadership.”
What CNN ultimately found was that 240 people have ties both to Trump and Project 2025. This connection raises further questions about Trump’s current denials of his involvement or knowledge of the project. As public scrutiny increases, the controversy surrounding Project 2025 and Trump’s association with it is likely to continue unfolding.