WEBVTT - Here's Why Project 2025 Has America's Attention

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. I'm Stephen Carol and

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<v Speaker 1>this is Here's Why, where we take one news story

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<v Speaker 1>and explain it in just a few minutes with our

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<v Speaker 1>experts here at Bloomberg. Now. It's a pretty bland name

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<v Speaker 1>for something aspiring to be the most important political blueprint

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<v Speaker 1>in America. Project twenty twenty five is getting plenty of attention.

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<v Speaker 2>Their campaign is Project twenty twenty five. It is taking

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<v Speaker 2>away reproductive freedom across this country.

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<v Speaker 3>Donald Trump is also trying to distract people. He wants

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<v Speaker 3>to direct attention away from his record and his Project

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<v Speaker 3>twenty twenty five plan.

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<v Speaker 1>The plan's stated goal is to rescue the US from

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<v Speaker 1>the quote grip of the radical left. It's architects want

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<v Speaker 1>it to be the policy framework for Donald Trump if

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<v Speaker 1>he wins re election in November. The Republican nominee has

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<v Speaker 1>tried to distance himself from it, though, but the Democrats

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<v Speaker 1>want Trump to be linked to its more radical ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>In a sign of how politically sensitive it's become. The

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<v Speaker 1>man who directed it, Paul Dan's a step down after

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<v Speaker 1>criticism from Trump. So here's why Project twenty twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>has America's attention. Our senior editor at Wendy Benjaminson joins

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<v Speaker 1>us from Washington for more high Wendy sou First of all,

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<v Speaker 1>who is behind Project twenty twenty five.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, this was led by the Heritage Foundation, which is

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<v Speaker 2>a longstanding conservative think tank in Washington. But it rose

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<v Speaker 2>to power really during the Reagan administration of one of

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<v Speaker 2>those very sort of old school conservative things, and it

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<v Speaker 2>has evolved, along with the Republican Party into sort of

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<v Speaker 2>a mago organization. But they were joined by one hundred

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<v Speaker 2>conservative groups around the country that wanted to sort of

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<v Speaker 2>Donald Trump a to do list for his presidency. And

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<v Speaker 2>the policy ranged all over the place, from really really

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<v Speaker 2>extreme to things that Donald Trump has said that have

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<v Speaker 2>long been conservative doctrine.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's going to happen to it now that Paul

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<v Speaker 1>Don's has gone.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm not really sure because one of the funny

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<v Speaker 2>things about this is that even though Trump has said

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<v Speaker 2>some of the policies are ridiculous and all of that,

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<v Speaker 2>the trouble is a lot of them are the things

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<v Speaker 2>he says every time he gets in front of a microphone.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, to have mass deportations of illegal immigrants, to

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<v Speaker 2>get rid of federal agencies that he doesn't like to

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<v Speaker 2>politicize the federal bureaucracy. One of the major points that

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<v Speaker 2>he disagrees with him on is abortion. Donald Trump has

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<v Speaker 2>never been a really strong anti abortion person. He's a

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<v Speaker 2>New Yorker or all that, but he has adopted a

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<v Speaker 2>more liberal, if you will, stands on abortion because he

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<v Speaker 2>wants to win the election. And America is two thirds

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<v Speaker 2>to three quarters in favor of some abortion rights and

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<v Speaker 2>this one calls for absolutely no abortions and mandated by Congress.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's not the sort of dilemma that he's facing

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<v Speaker 1>that even though this project very neatly puts together, as

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<v Speaker 1>you say, lots of things that he said before, there

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<v Speaker 1>are things that he doesn't like. Or is it about

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<v Speaker 1>him not accepting the premise that this is a blueprint

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<v Speaker 1>that's being onto him or to do list.

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<v Speaker 2>Honestly, I think what's happening is he's running from it

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<v Speaker 2>because the Democrats are quite effectively wrapping it around his neck.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>They're saying, this is what Donald Trump is going to

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<v Speaker 2>bring to the country. Look here and you'll see the

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<v Speaker 2>Trump administration, you know, laid out in front of you

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<v Speaker 2>for twenty twenty four to twenty twenty eight. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>some of them are very extreme. One of them would

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<v Speaker 2>limit the powers of the federal agency called OSHA, Occupational

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<v Speaker 2>Safety and Health Administration that keeps workers safe on their jobs.

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<v Speaker 2>It would not only limit their power, but allow miners

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<v Speaker 2>to do inherently dangerous work, allow child dangerous labor in

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<v Speaker 2>this country. Again, so there are parts of it that

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<v Speaker 2>he's saying, come on this, I'm not going to do that,

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<v Speaker 2>but he actually hasn't specified what he will and will

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<v Speaker 2>not do. It's just that the Democrats have so perfectly

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<v Speaker 2>wrapped this around his neck and said this is what

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<v Speaker 2>you're going to get.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is in a lot of ways a very

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<v Speaker 1>useful political tool for the Democrats. As you've outlined. Surely

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<v Speaker 1>they don't want to see Project twenty twenty five jettisoned

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<v Speaker 1>for now.

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<v Speaker 2>And they're not going to let it happen. They are

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<v Speaker 2>going to continue to open this big gift box that

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<v Speaker 2>the Heritage Foundation gave them, and every day, every rally,

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<v Speaker 2>every AD is going to mention Project twenty twenty five

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<v Speaker 2>and all of the really startling policies in it, which

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<v Speaker 2>include the US military conducting mass deportations of proposedly illegal immigrants.

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<v Speaker 2>Who knows how many people could get wrapped up in

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<v Speaker 2>mass deportations. It gets rid of the Department of Education.

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<v Speaker 2>The most scary thing in it is that it politicizes

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<v Speaker 2>the federal bureaucracy, so that even administrative assistance in the

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<v Speaker 2>Department of Energy or a biologist at the Environmental Protection

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<v Speaker 2>Agency would have to be loyal to Donald Trump, not

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<v Speaker 2>to the people of the United States. Those federal agencies

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<v Speaker 2>are supposed to be staffed below the top levels with

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<v Speaker 2>people who are working through across administrations, and the politicization

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<v Speaker 2>of the federal bureaucracy would be quite a sea change

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<v Speaker 2>for the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe another way that the Heritage Foundation and some of

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<v Speaker 1>those behind Project twenty twenty five might hope to have

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<v Speaker 1>influence is in personnel terms, to try and get people

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<v Speaker 1>into the key jobs if Donald Trump were to win

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<v Speaker 1>the election. Is that perhaps how this agenda stays relevant.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, that is how it would stay relevant. The people

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<v Speaker 2>who wrote Project twenty twenty five Paul Dan's it's Ben Carson,

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<v Speaker 2>the former Housing secretary, and other people who were extremely

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<v Speaker 2>close to Trump in his first administration who wrote this.

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<v Speaker 2>So presumably Trump will appoint some people who were involved

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<v Speaker 2>in Project twenty twenty five, or simply agree with some

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<v Speaker 2>of the policies in Project twenty twenty five, and so

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<v Speaker 2>it can find its way into Americans' lives of if

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<v Speaker 2>Donald Trump is elected, no matter whether he says he

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<v Speaker 2>likes it or not.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, and that's one of the reasons that we might

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<v Speaker 1>hear so much more about it over the next few months.

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<v Speaker 1>Wendy Benjaminson in Washington, Thank you so much for joining

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<v Speaker 1>us for more explanations like this one from our team

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty seven hundred journalists and analysts around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>Search for quick take on the Bloomberg website or Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Business app. I'm Stephen Caroll. This is here's why. I'll

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<v Speaker 1>be back next week with more. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 2>They don't do the thing