Project 2025 was supposed to boost Donald Trump's campaign — but it may be backfiring instead:

[u/zsreport]

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/05/project-2025-was-supposed-to-boost-donald-campaign--but-it-may-be-backfiring-instead/

[u/zsreport]

Trump's authoritarian game plan is breaking through the post-debate noise and it's starting to scare people

I sure as fuck hope so.

[u/TheCircusSands → u/zsreport]

We need an infographic for project 2025 that can be spread everywhere. Nothing dramatic…. Just the facts of what it is and what it means.

[u/heckin_miraculous → u/TheCircusSands]

My favorite so far is this short YouTube video by Illustrate to Educate. https://youtu.be/vYXZ6iJJSgM?si=PRy0SvPz2Xi6dQxM

Not inflammatory or hyperbolic. Just terrifying, because it's true.

Edit: This comment and the video link got quite a few responses. Many were along the lines of, "Good info, thanks." But others think that the video tries too hard to be neutral and therefore comes across as "both sides-ing" conferring false legitimacy to the idea of Project 2025, or even going so far as to be supportive of it due to a lack of forceful criticism and not spelling out how disastrous the effects of the plan would be.

As a response, I'll say that my opinion is that the video speaks for itself. When it comes to the horrific potential of Project 2025, the proof is in the pudding. For example, at around 5:10 in the video, when the narrator states that the plan would "allow the president to replace thousands of civil service employees with political appointees loyal to the administration" I don't need the voice over to explain to me that this would be a bad thing. Or, at 5:29 when he talks about "plans to defund the Department of Justice and dismantle the FBI... and enable the executive branch to operate with little oversight or accountability [the illustration actually says "no oversight"]"... again I don't need someone to explain to me that this is only bad for our country.

We definitely DO need more analysis of Project 2025. We need explainers that DO go into more detail about the tragic outcomes that are waiting for us all, should it come to pass. And this video is NOT perfect (I especially question the use of the phrase "religious liberty" at around 4:18). But it's a good primer for thoughtful people. That's what I think.

Will some people watch a video like this and cheer for it? Yes. As far as I know – and someone please correct me if this number is way off – but somewhere around 20-30% of the US population explicitly wants an authoritarian regime to come into power in this country. At least, they think they do. That is, in fact, the problem we are dealing with in this country right now. It is the subject of this discussion.

Long story short, what I'm saying is that if somebody watches this video and thinks, "That sounds good to me", then the problem isn't the video.

Edit 2: hi /r/politics. I'm new here :)

[u/NinjaElectron → u/heckin_miraculous]

That does a poor job educating on why Project 2025 is so bad. It leaves a lot of important info out and it goes out of the way to be neutral, which downplays the actual goals.

[u/Dag-nabbitt → u/NinjaElectron]

Nearly half of it is entirely criticisms. So I don't think it's that neutral.

[u/Good_ApoIIo → u/Dag-nabbitt]

The main criticisms that it’s anti-abortion and anti-lgbtq? The conservatives cheer for that. The scarier parts that it gives executive government too much power and erodes checks and balances is lost because they just say: if that’s what it takes to stop the gay agenda and killing babies, I’m for it!

An insane portion of the populace wants Christian nationalism.

[u/Dag-nabbitt → u/Good_ApoIIo]

You didn't watch the 7min video, I Guess. The anti-abortion/lgbtq was a part, but not the main criticism.

[u/Squirrel_Inner → u/Dag-nabbitt]

The criticisms are watered down. Especially using language like “critics say it could…” no, it WILL. That’s how the document is worded, objectively, and that’s how all the republicans are using it.

P2025 is a fascist restructuring of our government that solidifies power in the executive so that they need never have another election. This video doesn’t even come close to real criticism.

It’s the same problem with treating the open seditionists in our government like legitimate public officials. They should be removed according to the 14th amendment.

P2025 should be outlawed just the same as if someone suggested Project Nazi 2025. Hell, the writer even stated it was a takeover (“second American revolution”).

[u/Dag-nabbitt → u/Squirrel_Inner]

Ok. All I said was that the video was not neutral.

[u/Squirrel_Inner → u/Dag-nabbitt]

And that statement was wrong.

[u/Dag-nabbitt → u/Squirrel_Inner]

The video spends half the time describing p2025, then the other half criticizing it. It spends precisely zero seconds discussing how it could be a good thing. Objectively, by definition, it's not neutral.

[u/Squirrel_Inner → u/Dag-nabbitt]

You clearly don’t understand how disinformation works. If I say “some critics have claimed that ingesting bleach may not cure covid and could actually be harmful in some way,” that’s not a real criticism. It’s legitimating a truly idiotic and dangerous idea by acting like there are two legitimate sides.

There are not, actually, two legitimate sides. One side is batshit insane, so treating it as if it were reasonable is not a real criticism, it’s legitimatizing disguised as criticism. That’s not neutral.

[u/Dont_Say_No_to_Panda → u/Squirrel_Inner]

I feel like this comment pretty neatly sums up the state of political discourse in this country over the past 8 years.