Trump's Project 2025 JOYCE VANCE JUL 5 We know that Donald Trump was fixated on polls Friday morning. We know that because he posted about them at least 15 times on Truth social. The horse race polls may not have been the only polling data Trump looked at, because after devoting his 11 a.m. hour to them, he posted on Truth Social that he isn’t connected to Project 2025. It was almost as though he’d seen something suggesting that the plan, which we’ve been discussing here at Civil Discourse, isn’t particularly popular with voters who are informed about it. As Rick Wilson tweeted, it’s about as popular as Ebola. Trump claims he’s not connected to Project 2025. That seems like a convenient fiction that the Heritage Foundation, which is behind Project 2025, maintains as well. According to the website, they’re just working on an agenda for whichever Republican president—nudge, nudge, wink, wink—comes along next. Axios reports that, “Trump himself spends little time plotting governing plans. But he is well aware of a highly coordinated campaign to be ready to jam government offices with loyalists willing to stretch traditional boundaries.” And then, there are the personal connections. I have questions based on Trump’s post itself. How do you “know nothing” about the Project and have no idea who is behind it, but also know that you disagree with some of the things they’re saying? Perhaps some enterprising reporter will ask him what he agrees with and what he takes issue with. That would be illuminating. I’d love to know what parts he thinks are “ridiculous and abysmal.” The Biden-Harris campaign account on Twitter weighed in with this, and also tweeted that his current press secretary starred in what they called the Heritage Foundation’s “recruitment ads”: Many of the people working on the Project and many of the chapter authors are former Trump Administration employees or allies. Like Paul Dans, who directs Heritage’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The website says he’s responsible for organizing policy and personnel recommendations and training for appointees in the next presidential administration. “Prior to joining Heritage, Dans served in the Trump Administration as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management where he managed the federal agency in charge of human resources policy for the more than two million federal workers” and was appointed by Trump to serve as Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission. Or, like Spencer Chretien, the Associate Director of Heritage’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Chretien’s Heritage Foundation bio relates that “From 2020-2021, Chretien was a Special Assistant to President Donald J. Trump and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel, helping to identify, recruit, and place hundreds of political appointees at all levels of government.” That makes it doubly interesting that one of the functions the Project 2025 website serves is to accept applications from people interested in political appointments in the next administration, the “Plum Book” positions that Heritage encourages interested people to peruse and apply for. “Want to be considered?” the website asks, adding a big red “APPLY NOW” button at the top of the page so no one misses out on the opportunity to be considered. It seems unlikely Heritage is mounting this massive effort and screening individuals for actual positions without the presumptive Republican nominee’s approval. “Project 2025 is the effort of a massive coalition of conservative organizations that have come together to ensure a successful Administration begins in January 2025. With the right conservative policy recommendations and properly vetted and trained personnel to implement them, we will take back our government. Project 2025 is being organized by The Heritage Foundation,” the website continues. In a piece on the website discussing Project 2025, Chretien concludes that because of the powerful coalition of conservative groups behind the work, “Presidential candidates won’t be able to ignore what the conservative movement demands in this book.” Axios reports that this screening of “foot soldiers” who support Trump is serious work: “Hundreds of people are spending tens of millions of dollars to install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government to rip off the restraints imposed on the previous 46 presidents.” Project 2025 chapter Authors include: Rick A. Dearborn, one of Trump’s Deputy Chiefs of Staff at the White House. Christopher Miller, who was appointed Acting Secretary of Defense by Trump on November 9, 2020, after he lost the election. He stayed in place until Joe Biden’s inauguration. Ken Cuccinelli, Trump’s de facto head of DHS during the last last two years of the administration when he couldn’t get a Senate confirmed secretary in place. We took up the issue of Trump’s connection to Project 2025 here on Civil Discourse on Thursday in our conversation with Congressman Jared Huffman. The Congressman is heading up the Project 2025 Task Force on Capitol Hill. I asked: Joyce: Project 2025 reads like a political party’s convention platform. Led by Trump, the Republican Party didn’t have a platform in 2020, instead just expressing support for his agenda. How do we know that Project 2025 is connected to Trump and not just the work of a conservative think tank? He responded: Congressman Huffman:   Both Heritage and the Trump campaign want people to suspend disbelief and think their respective efforts are disconnected. To protect Heritage’s nonprofit (c)(3) status, they pretend Heritage is just an independent, non-profit, conservative “think tank” putting out some ideas. And separately, without any coordination, the Trump campaign is developing action plans for Trump to implement if he wins.  Good luck with that!  These efforts are one and the same. Heritage boasts of working with over 100 extreme rightwing groups that are the heart of Trump’s political base. And the authors and collaborators on Project 2025 include some of the most trusted MAGA members of the prior Trump administration – including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Senior Advisors Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro, and many more. I don’t know if the GOP will formally adopt a “platform” at their convention this year, but if they do, it will likely be something like “Agenda 47,” the compilation of rambling Trump speeches laying out ideas and positions on the campaign website. It’s not nearly as detailed as Project 2025, and in some cases it’s weird and not serious enough to be in Project 2025 (e.g., flying cars), but there are no conflicts between the two.  For all intents and purposes, the GOP platform is Project 2025, which Steve Bannon and other Trump confidants openly proclaim as their “war plan.”    Friday on Morning Joe, we discussed Project 2025 as the context for understanding Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ comment that the coming revolution could be “bloodless if the left allows it to be.” The folks at Heritage are putting in an awful lot of time and expense if this is a program that Trump isn’t on board with. Project 2025 doesn’t contain overt references to Trump. In that regard, it reminds me of the Supreme Court’s opinion in the immunity appeal, Trump v. U.S. The Court pretended it was writing rules for theoretical future presidents. They tried to divorce their decision from the reality that it could let Donald Trump, whom they dismissed without naming him as “present exigencies,” escape from his effort to overturn the election with no consequences. But we knew—just like we know here. It’s not like it’s the first time Donald Trump has lied to the American people. Thanks for being here with me at Civil Discourse, where we apparently are able to anticipate Trump’s before he makes them. I appreciated hearing from so many of you who saw Trump’s post and wrote to say you knew it wasn’t so because you’d read Congressman Huffman’s responses to Five Questions. The more people understand about Project 2025, the more they realize Trump can’t be permitted back in the White House. Trump knows it too. That’s why he’s suddenly denying any connection to it. We’re in this together, Joyce

Top News: Critics Call BS as Trump Seeks Distance From Project 2025

 

Friday, July 5, 2024 ■ Today's Top News  As Other Governors Boost Biden, Maura Healey Says 'Listen to the American People' "Whatever President Biden decides, I am committed to doing everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump," the Massachusetts Democrat said. By Jessica Corbett 'Bullsh*t': Trump Slammed for Trying to Distance Himself From Project 2025 "Trump is now desperately trying to run from his deep ties to Project 2025... MAGA extremists' radical wish list for a second Trump term," President Joe Biden's campaign said. By Brett Wilkins Kansas Supreme Court Affirms Abortion Rights, Strikes Down Restrictions "This is an immense victory for the health, safety, and dignity of people in Kansas and the entire Midwestern region, where millions have been cut off from abortion access," said one advocate. By Jessica Corbett 'Jewel Thief' Bolsonaro Among 12 Indicted for Alleged Embezzlement in Brazil The former right-wing president and others including his personal aide allegedly sold state property including jewelry and other gifts worth more than $1 million in the United States. By Brett Wilkins 'Disturbing Milestone': Israeli Settler Attacks in West Bank Surpass 1,000 Since October 7 "While a few individuals have been detained, no civilian or soldier has been prosecuted in connection with any of these 1,000 attacks," said a coalition of aid agencies. By Jake Johnson Independent Corbyn Wins Reelection as Labour Ends 14 Years of Destructive Tory Rule The former Labour leader issued a warning to the incoming government of Keir Starmer: "Dissent cannot be crushed without consequences." By Jake Johnson JOIN THE MOVEMENT As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. JOIN WITH US TODAY ■ More News 'Voters Won Big': Wisconsin Supreme Court Restores Ballot Drop Boxes 'I Was Beaten Day and Night': Freed Gaza Detainees Allege Torture by Israeli Forces 'Insure Our Survival': XR Launches Campaign at British Insurance Industry Awards Night 'More Unhinged by the Minute': Senior Israeli Lawmaker Suggests Nuclear Attack on Iran VIEW ALL NEWS ■ Opinion The US Must Declare Independence From Political Idolatry The electorate’s widespread disillusionment with democracy is an indictment of our current system, but it’s also an opportunity to speak to people’s needs and organize for real change. By Richard Eskow Trump's Far-Right Army Is Threatening Bloodshed. Believe Them. We must not only resist, but prevail. If we do not, it will be nearly impossible to reverse the course that America’s right-wing billionaires have set us on. By Thom Hartmann The Arrogant Supreme Court Is Now the Enemy Within Americans know the Supreme Court’s anti-democratic agenda when they see it. Americans know a judicial power grab when they see it. Americans know a king when they see one. Tell me, America, do you like what you see? By Steven Harper Parents and Children Are Fighting Back—And Winning for LGBTQ+ Rights Fear-mongering, intolerance, and hate fail when we stand united against them. By Tricia Raikes VIEW ALL OPINION Call 207.775.0488 to donate by phone or mail a check to: Common Dreams · PO Box 443 · Portland, ME 04112-0443 · USA Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contribution is tax-deductible. EIN: 20-3368194

                STOP ISRAELI LUNACY!  IT'S TIME FOR PEACE!

                IRAN WAS ABIDING BY THE AGREEMENT...ISRAEL FORCED                            tRUMP TO WITHDRAW ...and now they're protesting? 

                ISRAEL WANTS TO EXPAND THEIR WAR? 

                THE US MUST NOT BE DRAWN IN TO ISRAEL'S LUNACY!

    

                

'More Unhinged by the Minute': Senior Israeli Lawmaker Suggests Nuclear Attack on Iran

"It is not possible anymore to stop the Iranian nuclear program with conventional means," the hardline Knesset member and former Israeli defense minister said.

A longtime Israeli lawmaker and former defense minister took to the airwaves and social media on Wednesday to suggest his country should do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"It is not possible anymore to stop the Iranian nuclear program with conventional means," Avigdor Liberman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party said during a Channel 12 interview. "And we will have to use all the means that are available to us."

"We will have to stop with the deliberate policy of ambiguity, and it needs to be clear what is at stake here," Liberman continued, apparently referring to Israel's refusal to say whether it has nuclear weapons. "What is at stake here is the future of this nation, the future of the state of Israel, and we will not take any risks."

When pressed on what he meant by stopping Iran with non-conventional means, Liberman said, "I said it very clearly."

"Right now there is no time to stop the Iranian nuclear program, their weaponization, by using conventional means," he added.

Liberman made similar comments on social media, where his remarks sparked alarm and condemnation. The lawmaker's hardline call comes amid powder keg tensions between Tel Aviv and Tehran, which warned last week that any Israeli invasion of Lebanon—from which Iranian ally Hezbollah is resisting Israel's annihilation of Gaza—would trigger an "obliterating war."

According to the Arms Control Association (ACA), a U.S.-based advocacy group, Iran is a "threshold state," meaning "it has developed the necessary capacities to build nuclear weapons."

However, a February 2024 threat assessment report authored by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence stated that "Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities necessary to produce a testable nuclear device."

"Since 2020, however, Tehran has stated that it is no longer constrained by any JCPOA limits," the report says, a reference to so-called Iran Nuclear Deal from which the U.S. unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under former President Donald Trump. "Iran has greatly expanded its nuclear program, reduced [International Atomic Energy Agency] monitoring, and undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so."

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, although Kamal Kharazi, a foreign policy advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the Financial Times earlier this week that his country would "have to change our doctrine" if faced with an existential threat.

The ACA and others estimate that Israel has around 90 nuclear warheads and fissile material for approximately 200 more.

Liberman isn't the first Israeli lawmaker to suggest nuclear war against Iran. Far-right Deputy Knesset Speaker Nissim Vaturi—who sparked outrage by saying Israeli forces are "too humane" in Gaza and should "burn" the Palestinian territory—said in April that "in the event of a conflict with Iran, if we do not receive American ammunition, we will have to use everything we have."

Right-wing Israeli lawmaker Avigdor Liberman speaks in Jerusalem on March 21, 2023. 

(Photo: Avigdor Liberman/Facebook)

COMMON DREAMS

 

'Disturbing Milestone': Israeli Settler Attacks in West Bank Surpass 1,000 Since October 7

"While a few individuals have been detained, no civilian or soldier has been prosecuted in connection with any of these 1,000 attacks," said a coalition of aid agencies.

A coalition of aid agencies on Friday implored the international community to take concrete, punitive action against the Israeli government and settlers after the number of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank since October 7 surpassed 1,000.

The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), a group of international organizations working in the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a statement that the rate of settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank has doubled since the same time last year, from an average of two per day to four.

"At least 10 people, including two children, have been killed during these attacks, and at least 234 have been injured, including 20 children. Since 7 October, 1,260 people, including 600 children, have been forcibly displaced amid settler violence and movement restrictions. The displaced households are from 20 herding and Bedouin communities throughout Area C of the West Bank. As one survivor of settler violence explained, 'No place is safe here.'"

"Settler violence is premeditated and orchestrated by organized groups from known outposts and settlements, with the support of Israel's government, including local and regional settlement councils," the group added, noting the limited sanctions that the United States and the European Union have imposed on individual settlers "have failed to reduce the frequency of attacks."

"While a few individuals have been detained, no civilian or soldier has been prosecuted in connection with any of these 1,000 attacks," AIDA said. "Reports indicate that some illegal outpost farms operated by sanctioned settlers—many of whom have been reported to be at the center of multiple violent incidents—have received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of material support from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Settlements, the Settlement Administration in the Ministry of Defense, and through local and regional settlement councils."

"Foreign governments must act now to stop this illegal appropriation by taking meaningful measures to hold the Israeli government and perpetrators of these attacks to account."

AIDA urged the international community to "adopt new restrictive measures which go beyond individual settlers to target identified organizations and state entities who promote violence and/or take part in attacks on Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure."

The group also argued that the far-right Israeli government "should be held accountable for the repeated and evidence-based allegations that the military and other state authorities are tolerating, enabling, and at times participating in settler violence."

A Human Rights Watch report published in April found that the Israeli military "either took part in or did not protect Palestinians from violent settler attacks in the West Bank that have displaced people from 20 communities and have entirely uprooted at least seven communities" since October 7.

AIDA's statement came days after the Israeli government announced the seizure of nearly five square miles of land in the West Bank—Israel's largest land grab in the occupied Palestinian territory in more than three decades.

Sally Abi Khalil, Middle East and North Africa director for Oxfam International—an AIDA member—said Friday that settler attacks in the West Bank have reached a "disturbing milestone."

"In a context where outpost legalization is being fast-tracked, and Israel is stealing more and more land," said Khalil, "foreign governments must act now to stop this illegal appropriation by taking meaningful measures to hold the Israeli government and perpetrators of these attacks to account."

A wounded Palestinian man arrives for treatment for injuries from an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on April 12, 2024. 

(Photo: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images)

COMMON DREAMS