Paul Dans talks Project 2025 and Trump on CNN's "The Source"

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 cnna college poll show that three qus of Lely 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 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 Trump or and now for his first television interview since he stepped down as the Director of project 20 25 in July I am joined by Paul Dan 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 that your work could be a liability for for Trump when he's on stage up there tomorrow no not at all and thank you for having me Kaylyn uh look president Trump's The Greatest debater Bar None of our time and uh 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 and I think that's what's been so threatening to the left um 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 um 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 of personnel and 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 Navaro Johnny mckinty 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 uh you know worked on it came out of the Trump Administration but that's natural for any Republican Administration you're going to have to carry over for the next one and then this case is conservative but look those ideas were open to Joe Biden and and and to implement if he wants to and and they actually are it's funny thing 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 uh you know talking about a second uh American Revolution or or bloodless we have to lower the temperature in this country but uh 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 25 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 M prone which is the the abortion medication that the FDA approved 24 years ago I mean that is part of it uh when it comes to that you want to get rid of the inflation reduction act which helped you know lower the 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 well I hope so you know to be fair 400 people worked on that book and um not everyone who wrote for the book agrees with everything in the book you know it's a coming together of of our movement that only a plotting of points to basically direct the next conservative president this is a a way what the conservatives would like to see um certainly I think even under uh Harris Administration you see a number of ideas are common sense these are the things Americans want and in fact if there's some polling that when people actually look at the issues discussed you know restoring the family and and really helping us um you know provide for kids and and and Shoring up our our borders there's great uh public sentiment in favor of it how many times have you been to Mar Lago several several sure and you meet with Trump campaign people or who do you talk to when you're there well I've met uh well they're not at the Mar Argo per se but yeah I've met with Susie and you know from time to time we have a little bit of interchange but the 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 I met him in the in the snaps line and uh I met him a couple years prior but no I I really haven't met president 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 a given comments like that that you've met him that you've been to Mar Lago well he hasn't been personally briefed by myself or I I don't know what the nature of his campaign briefings on have been but um certainly we're we're picking up where he left off in the first term a lot of us have worked there and were 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 esque it's really and that's what's so exciting to see like RFK junr and the rest joining the heritage joining the uh Trump fold is that that this isn't coming together for our country are the people joining the Trump campaign RFK junor Cory leowski has returned are they more open to project 2025 and its ideas you know I think that the ideas in Project 2025 we talk about making America healthy again we are definitely uh going after uh you know HHS and we can't remember we can't forget what happened here three years ago with with Co and the Jabs 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 it in July and when you did Susie who you just mentioned that's Susie ws and Chris LV 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 25's demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump in his campaign it will not end well for you what was your response to that very forceful denunciation of your work well I with apologies Mark Twain I'd say you know the reports of of My Demise have been greatly exaggerated um you know the the reality is that look they we haven't had interchange with campaign uh a lot of this was done you know way before President Trump even announced for office uh you know a lot of the Heritage folks worked with the DeSantis campaign so you might you might actually say it's more of a a disantis project Trump's name is in the document 300 times disantis is is 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 um gave the the seat of honor to Governor D santis so I think you know it's very ironic that it's now getting mapped to him it's that's fake news but uh 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 think Trump's campaign managers are doing a good job I'm I'm excited about the change uh with Lori with Corey coming in I you know with the RFK Jr Edition that's is really exciting Dr Carson is a godson and um yeah I really think that this is an opportunity for our country to really heal come together you know the president had an extra extraordinary year uh you know the gentleman almost died but for the grace of God and I think it's a you know we sit here in New York um on the eve of September 11th here you know I 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 work in a second Trump term well you know I'd obviously be honored to be asked by the president but it's so important 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 of project 2025 it's what he's telling you what he did he brought us peace he brought us Rising uh an economy Rising wages and and we know that for certain