A Year Later, the Mask Slips: Trump Embraces the Project 2025 Agenda

Not too long ago, former President Donald Trump tried to play it coy. When asked about Project 2025—a radical right-wing blueprint for overhauling the federal government with an iron fist—Trump responded like a man who’s never heard a thing about it. That was last year. But here we are now, and the man doesn’t even pretend anymore.

The posture of ignorance seems to have served its purpose. It bought time. Time for strategists to work behind the scenes, for conservative think tanks to solidify their plans, and for public attention to shift to the next crisis or controversy. But those of us who pay close attention, especially folks like me who’ve served, advocated, and lived at the mercy of dysfunctional systems—we never stopped watching. And now, we’re seeing the puzzle pieces lock into place.

What *Is* Project 2025?

Project 2025 is a 900+ page executive playbook created by The Heritage Foundation and other far-right policy groups. It outlines a sweeping plan to take over nearly every function of the federal government, stripping away protections, civil service independence, and long-standing checks and balances. They want to gut regulatory agencies, remove nonpartisan public servants, and replace them with loyalists. There’s a heavy push for dismantling what they call the “deep state”—a term hijacked to justify looting the government and silencing dissent.

It’s no exaggeration to call it a return to authoritarian rule in a suit and tie.

Trump Once Distanced Himself… Barely

Last year, when confronted about the agenda, Trump said something like, “I don’t know much about it.” That line, repeated in varying tones by his spokespeople and campaign, was calculated. It gave just enough distance so if things went south—or sounded too extreme—he could wash his hands of it. Meanwhile, many of the people spearheading Project 2025 are former (and likely future) Trump administration officials.

You don’t claim ignorance when your fingerprints are on the blueprint.

Convenience and Timing: Trump’s Embrace Now

Fast forward to this year—an election year—and the pretense is gone.

Trump recently praised the ideas behind Project 2025, suggesting he would follow several of its major provisions. That includes reshaping the Department of Justice, expanding presidential powers, and making government workers politically beholden to him. He’s now fully leaning into it, likely because he senses strength in unity with the far-right policy machine.

He knows some Americans feel forgotten, angry, or betrayed by broken institutions. He’s betting that fear and fatigue will make them desperate enough to buy what he’s selling: total power concentrated in one man’s hands under the illusion of “draining the swamp.”

But that kind of power doesn’t help people like me—it crushes us.

Veterans, Workers, and Citizens Will Pay the Price

As a veteran, I’ve seen what happens when policies are made with politics instead of people in mind. Project 2025 slashes through social safety nets, strips workers of agency, dismantles diversity protections, and enables authoritarian policing.

We’ve fought wars for democracy, not for dictatorship wearing the disguise of law and order.

When regular citizens—your neighbors, your kids, your coworkers—get caught up in these draconian visions for America, who will speak for them? I’ve lived through systems that ignore those they’re supposed to serve. Erasing safeguards, silencing dissent, and weaponizing government agencies doesn’t fix those systems—it escalates the harm.

This Isn’t Just Politics—It’s a Warning

Some folks may shrug this off as just more political mudslinging. But this isn’t about party lines. It’s about the soul of our democracy.

If Trump and the architects of Project 2025 get their way, what’s imagined in that playbook won’t remain theory. It will become law, practice, and precedent. The courts will be stacked, opposition crushed, and communities marginalized.

We can’t afford to be complacent. This is the moment to pay attention, to read between the lines, and to remember the lessons history has already taught us—especially those of us who’ve served, struggled, and stood up before.

We the People Still Decide

My message isn’t just one of warning. It’s also one of hope. The power still resides in *us*—in the people willing to speak boldly, act justly, and vote with vision. Every conversation, every article, every neighbor we inform—that matters.

So if you’re reading this, take it to heart. Don’t let power-hungry elites hijack our country under the guise of patriotism. We’ve come too far and sacrificed too much to let it all slip