The Centre for Climate Reporting went undercover to record Project 2025 architect Russell Vought on hidden camera last month, with a reporter and an actor posing as relatives of a wealthy potential donor to his conservative think tank. And Vought was thrilled to spill the beans on his group’s fascist plot to take over the government, including the fact that they have another “in” with a potential Donald Trump administration.
That would be Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee. He’s on their team.
“Very happy with JD as a pick…. I think it’s transformative, for sure,” Vought told the reporters. “And he’s… think of him as a member version of what we do.”
“So there’s no think tank, no policy organization, no battle plan creator other than us for the worldview that I think Donald Trump has and that JD has,” Vought said.
That’s his pitch to the would-be donors: Giving him money is the only way to have their worldview imposed upon the nation. That worldview has been cobbled together from 19th century mores, dystopian fiction, and some pretty weird ideas about society and government in 2024.
“The relationships will be there. The trust level will be there,” so don’t worry about Trump, Vought tells the reporters. He’s all in on the project, and if he gets a little sloppy and undisciplined at times, it’s okay because they have Vance as “one part of the policy process,” Vought says in the transcript provided to Daily Kos. Trump’s running mate will be an “important voice … a really, really important pick” to help implement the plan they will have ready on Day 1 of a second Trump administration.
It was already apparent that Vance was in pretty deep with the Project 2025 creators. He wrote the foreword to a forthcoming book by Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, the think tank that oversaw the creation of the blueprint for an extremist government. This hidden camera footage of Vought confirms that Vance is on board—and he’s not the only weird one in this GOP venture to take over the government. The whole force behind the modern MAGA GOP is deeply weird, and is reflected in everything from Vance’s and Trump’s misogyny to their authoritarian ideals,
Thankfully, the majority of American voters don’t share their worldview—and the more voters get to know Vance, the more they dislike him. New Navigator Research polling finds that nearly one-half of voters have heard negative news “about his comments about women and families without children.” And almost three in five voters say that Vance supports abortion being illegal in all or most cases. He is underwater by 40 points (15% favorable to 55% unfavorable).
Likewise, the more people hear about Project 2025, the more they disapprove.
The Democratic Party is smart to keep a laser-like focus on these ghouls for the next 80 days. Because the more people know about Project 2025, the easier it will be to defeat it.
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