Donald Trump’s first term as president of the United States was a surprise to many. This includes many members of his own party. Because of their shock at the 2016 election’s results, the republican party found themselves without a plan for managing such a radical president. This time around, however, they are much more prepared.
The Conservative Heritage Foundation has designed a blueprint for Trump’s second term titled Project 2025. This is an ultra-right-wing plan for President-Elect Trump’s second term. In light of the recent election results, many prominent republicans have explicitly announced the existence and their support of Project 2025. Such figures include Matt Walsh, a pundit on the podcast Daily Wired, who tweeted “Now that the election is over, I think we can finally say that, yeah, actually Project 2025 is the agenda” on November 6. Another Trump supporter, Steve Bannon, also released a statement in support of Project 2025.
Throughout his campaign, Trump claimed he knew “nothing about Project 2025.” Trump being a pathological liar is old news. It would be no shock to anyone if this were another lie. Now that he has won the presidential election, the public is waiting for him to admit to previously knowing about the plan. He has not commented yet, but many of his supporters have voiced their support. Additionally, Project 2025 was not hidden from the masses, making Trump’s claims of ignorance even less believable.
The plan for Trump’s second term in office can best be described as a conservative manifesto. It overtly threatens the rights of many people including the LGBTQ+ community with gender being mentioned 111 times in the documents laying out Project 2025. It pledges to abolish anti-discrimination policies and put restrictions on healthcare for transgender people. Members of the Republican party have outright stated that the “transgender ideology” is a form of “pornography” and has promoted the “sexualization of children.” These derogatory and ignorant comments are sure to normalize homophobia and hate for trans folks throughout the country.
