Paul Dans, the former director of Project 2025, a conservative policy roadmap, expressed in an interview with CNN that he is not concerned about Vice President Kamala Harris attributing the proposal to Donald Trump during a debate. Dans mentioned that Trump had no involvement in the plan, despite various former Trump administration employees contributing to Project 2025. Dans stated that he has been to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort multiple times and has interacted with Trump campaign leadership occasionally. He emphasized that Trump had no part in creating the proposal, and the number of former Trump administration employees involved was just a natural coordination among colleagues.
Harris and other Democrats have sought to link Trump to Project 2025 as a way to portray him as extreme. They have highlighted aspects of the conservative policies in the plan, such as reproductive health care, prescription drug costs, and education policy, to suggest that Trump wants to revert the country to the past. Trump, on the other hand, has consistently denied any involvement with Project 2025 and criticized some of the claims made about the plan as “ridiculous and abysmal.” Regardless of Trump’s denial, a CNN review found that many individuals who worked in the Trump administration had contributed to the project, including those listed as authors, editors, and contributors to the manifesto “Mandate for Leadership”.
Dans reiterated that Trump did not participate in the creation of Project 2025 and emphasized that the collaboration among former colleagues was a natural occurrence in any Republican administration transitioning to the next. He stated that the plan was a result of bringing together 110 conservative groups to develop a common-sense strategy. When questioned about his decision to step down as the group’s director and comments by Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita warning against misrepresenting influence with Trump, Dans responded jokingly, stating that reports of his departure were exaggerated.
In another interview with The New York Times, Dans criticized campaign advisers LaCivita and Susie Wiles for mishandling Trump’s campaign as Democrats shifted to supporting Harris after President Joe Biden exited the race. Dans expressed his disappointment in the current state of Trump’s campaign and drew a comparison to a horse race, suggesting that Trump should be performing better. When asked about his opinion on Trump’s current campaign managers, Dans expressed optimism about the team’s restructuring, mentioning notable additions like Corey Lewandowski, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Ben Carson. Despite his critique of the campaign, Dans did not directly respond to LaCivita’s warning about misrepresenting ties with President Trump.
