Vice President Harris and Democrats have continued to attack Donald Trump over his connections to Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a potential second Trump term. And it's a message that seems to be resonating with voters. New numbers from The New York Times and CNN College poll show that three quarters of likely voters say they've not only heard about it, but for most of those who know about it, they oppose it. 63% of that number opposed to Project 2025. Those numbers might explain Trump's multiple attempts to distance himself from Project 2025 overall. We have nothing to do with Project 25. I don't even know what the hell it is. I don't know anything about it. Listen to what the former Trump staffer turned to Project 2025 director himself has said about it. We're going to make this happen under President Trump. It's going to be a D-Day invasion plan. I'm a Forever Trumper. And now for his first television interview since he stepped down as the director of Project 2025 in July, I'm joined by Paul Dano. It's great to have you here. I mean, as you know, given what we've seen from the conventions, it's almost inevitable that this will be brought up on the debate stage tomorrow night. Are you worried that your work could be a liability for Trump when he's on stage up there tomorrow? No, not at all. And thank you for having me, Caitlyn. The President Trump's the greatest debater bar none of our time. And, you know, the breaking news is Trump has nothing to do with Project 2025. Sure, a lot of us have worked in the admin and came together, but this started long before he even announced for president. It was really a coming together of the conservative movement, and I think that's what's been so threatening to the left. You know, our side's always been prone to infighting and what we were able to do here was bring together 110 groups and really lay out a common sense plan. You know, not everyone agrees and what's in that book, but the book's only actually part of the plan. And what we did was really invite people from all over the country to to get back into their government. Well, I think that's why, you know, I was reading through it again in recent days when when people say Trump has nothing to do with it, I mean, you worked as the deputy chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management, a pretty significant office. Six of his former cabinet secretaries helped collaborate or write on it. I mean, you look at it and it's full of names that people would recognize. Chris Miller, Peter Navarro, Johnny McEntee. And so some people say, okay, well, 140 of his staffers worked on it. How can you say that he has nothing to do with it? Well, he personally didn't have anything to do with it. Certainly a lot of folks, you know, worked on it came out of the Trump administration. But that's natural for any Republican administration. You're going to have a carryover for the next one and in this case is conservative. But look, those ideas were open to Joe Biden and and to implement if he wants to. And they actually are it's very it is very conservative. Does it bother you when Trump calls it abysmal and ridiculous? I mean, something that you worked on for for two years? Well, I mean, I don't know what he's referring to in particular with that. You know, certainly there were some remarks by people at Heritage that I would I fully renounce, you know, any any kind of, you know, talking about the second American Revolution or or blood lawlessness. We have to lower the temperature in this country. But as far as the ideas within Project 2025, I think they're pretty solid. The reality is that most of what people think is in Project 2025 is in fact not in it. It's mainly misinformation. There's a few things that Democrats have said that's not true, like on Social Security, but a lot of it, you know, revoking access to mifepristone, which is the abortion medication that the FDA approved 24 years ago. I mean, that is part of it. When it comes to that, you want to get rid of the Inflation Reduction Act, which helped, you know, lower the cost of prescription drugs. Those are all part of it. And when you say Trump has nothing to do with it, if he's reelected, do you think that parts of Project 2025 would ultimately come to fruition in a Trump second term? Well, I hope so. You know, to be fair, 400 people worked on that book, and not everyone who wrote for the book agrees with everything in the book. You know, is a coming together of of our movement that only a plotting of points to basically direct the next conservative president. This is a way what the conservatives would like to see. Certainly I think even under a Harris administration, you see a number of ideas that are common sense. These are the things Americans want. And in fact, if there was some polling that when people actually look at the issues, discuss, you know, restoring the family and and really helping us, you know, provide for kids and and shoring up our borders, there is great public standing in favor of it. How many times have you been to Mar a Lago? Several. Several. And you meet with Trump campaign people or who do you talk to when you're there? Well, I've met well, they're not at the Mar a Lago per se, but yeah, I've met with Susie. And, you know, from time to time we have a little bit of interchange, but it's very limited with respect to Project 2025. Sure. Have you met with Trump himself? I've only met him shaking hands with him. And when was was that recently? Well, I spoke at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Tennessee, So I met him in the in the Snap's line, and I met him a couple of years prior. But no, I really haven't met person. So when you say Trump has nothing to do with it, you're saying he wasn't personally, he didn't write it, he didn't collaborate on it. But but I looked at some past things you said, and you said that this is ultimately his direction and his team's direction. I think people might doubt that he has nothing to do with it. Given comments like that that you've met him, that you've been to Mar a Lago? Well, he hasn't been personally briefed by myself or I didn't know what the nature of his campaign briefings on it have been. But certainly we're picking up where he left off in the first term. A lot of us have worked there and we're frustrated. I mean, what project 2025 really is? It's not a threat to democracy. It's a threat to bureaucracy. It's it's putting the American we, the people, back into our government right now. We have a permanent government in Washington. And this is the essence of a call to people to come serve in Washington. It's Kennedy. Yes. It's really and that's what's so exciting to see, like RFK Junior and the rest, join the heritage, joining the Trump fold is that that this is a coming together for our country. Are the people joining the trump campaign? RFK jr. Corey Lewandowski has returned. Are they more open to project 2025 and its ideas? You know, I think that the ideas and project 2025, we talk about making America healthy again. We are definitely going after, you know, HHS and we can't re we can't forget what happened here three years ago with with COVID and the jobs. Well, let me explain why I asked that, because you stepped down. It seemed kind of abrupt given this was a blueprint for a second term. You left in July. And when you did Suzy, who you just mentioned, that Suzy Wiles and Krystal Acevedo, they're running the Trump campaign. They put out a statement after your departure that said, Trump's campaign has been very clear for over a year that project 2025 had nothing to do with the campaign, did not speak for the campaign, and should not be associated with the campaign or in any way reports of Project 2025 demise would be greatly welcomed, and conservatives notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign, it will not end well for you. What was your response to that very forceful denunciation of your work? Well, with apologies from Mark Twain, I'd say, you know, the reports of of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. You know, the reality is that, look, we haven't had interchange with the campaign. A lot of this was done, you know, way before President Trump even announced for office. You know, a lot of the heritage folks work with the DeSantis campaign. So you can like you might actually say it's more of a descent. This project, which name is in the document 300 times what is the Santos's it's not yeah he's the former president you know but like when it came time to debut the book at the Heritage 50th anniversary. President Trump wasn't invited by the heritage management. They instead gave the the seat of honor to Governor DeSantis. So I think, you know, it's very ironic that it's now getting out to him. It's that fake news. But to be fair, you know, it's natural that a lot of these ideas, because there were great there were great things that he was on the verge of anything. Trump's campaign managers are doing a good job. I'm excited about the change with with Corey coming in, you know, with the RFK Jr addition. That's just really exciting. Dr. Carson is a godsend. And yeah, I really think that this is an opportunity for our country to really he'll come together. You know, the president has an extreme, extraordinary ear. You know, the gentleman almost died, but for the grace of God. And I think it's you know, we sit here in New York on the eve of September 11th here. You know, I was here for 20 years. And I still remember after that how, you know, people came together. And I think we have that moment now. You worked in the last Trump administration. Would you work in a second Trump term was, you know, obviously be honored to be asked by the president. But it's so important that we get that second term. And I think that that's really what we need to be concentrating on now. I think, you know, the president has had we had great peace and prosperity, four years of Trump. You know what Trump's going to offer? It's not what's in the book, the Project 2025. It's what he's telling you, what he did. He brought us peace. He brought us rising an economy, rising wages. And we know that for certain with Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris, rather, you know, she's an unknown, but we know she's the most radical. You know, she makes Biden look like a moderate. I think she would obviously push back on that. Paul, Dan, thank you for joining us for your first TV interview.