By Cody Yarbrough, Contributing Writer
Here we are, in the second era of Donald Trump’s America. Despite the best efforts of Black voters across the country, the Ku Klux Klan-endorsed politician has made his way to the head of this country once again. His first stint as president was directionless and painfully self-gratifying. Every bill passed was presented as another highlight of his legacy, and every national tragedy was used as an opportunity to make himself look strong in the face of adversity. When it was all said and done, the best thing about Trump’s first term was that it ended before he could make the Covid-19 pandemic of the early 2020s even worse. Now, in 2025, he’s back in control. Only this time, Trump has a plan.
Written during the Biden administration, Project 2025 was put together by a group of right-wing political pundits as a step-by-step blueprint on how Trump could wield his power to its greatest effect in the case of a second term. To oversimplify the 900+ page document, it describes a strategy to usurp American democracy by dismantling sections of the government, replacing high-level government leaders with MAGA believers, and abusing the power of executive order. From there, Trump and his loyalists would shape the country into their own image. Destroying decades of civil progress and sending the country into a dark period where people like him feel “Great Again.”
The very idea of such a future is daunting, yet since the second election of Trump, many people have questioned whether Project 2025 is a real political plan or simply a wishlist from a bunch of fringe extremists. Despite the document mentioning Trump by name 312 times, the president avoids the question of Project 2025 like the plague and claims that he has no connection to the plan. However, to seasoned political leaders like Dennis Archer Sr., Trump’s feigned ignorance is less than convincing.
“No, I don’t believe it.” The former Detroit mayor told the Michigan Chronicle during an interview leading up to the 2024 general election. “What you’ll find in the forward at the beginning of the document is that there were 140 people who had in the past been part of the Trump administration and had worked inside of the administration. The more you read, the clearer it becomes that what’s being proposed are ‘solutions’ to what President Trump sees as problems.”
Unlike many of Trump’s subordinates, Archer is far from a political novice. He’s seen everything from the most shocking legislative moves to the pettiest of political grudges. Yet much of what Trump has done and said during his time in the Oval Office has left him at a loss for words. Project 2025 is not only the most unhinged thing to come from Trump’s political run, but it’s also the most dangerous.
If you’re even slightly familiar with Donald Trump, then you know that illegal immigrants are the bane of his existence. He’s talked about building walls, deporting immigrants by the busload, and making Mexico pay for it all. Project 2025 (the plan he said had nothing to do with it) just so happens to be equally concerned about the border and has some ideas on how to solve the “migrant crisis.” All of which involve Trump taking the reins of the government and stripping away protections for immigrants. Warrantless arrest, increased detainment facilities, and denying those arrested their day in immigration court are all steps that are listed in the strategy of Project 2025. However, according to Archer, the correlation between Trump’s words and Project 2025’s declarations was made clear long ago on the campaign trail.
“He was always talking about immigrants. When he first announced his campaign, [he said] people were coming across the border and that these people were thieves and rapists and whatever. And that they were coming over to cause our citizens harm. Then he started later talking about ‘If I get re-elected I’m not going to be a dictator; I’m just going to be a dictator for one day…’ Then more things started to come out, where it became clear that what’s being proposed is a solution to [the alleged problems] the President Trump sees.”
Picking an “enemy” and using the power of the executive branch to attack them is a classic Trump political move and a major theme of Project 2025. As Archer stated, Trump’s intention was always to seize as much control as he could and use it against whomever he felt like. However, Project 2025 helped him decide the best place to aim his political influence. Page 135 of the document shares Trump’s exact sentiments towards Latino immigrants and the government’s role in removing them. But unlike the president’s ramblings, Project 2025 lays out a clear strategy on how to get it done.
“To truly secure the homeland, a conservative Administration needs to return the [Department of Homeland Security] to the right mission, the right size, and the right budget. This would include reorganizing the department and shifting significant resources away from several supporting components to the essential operational components. Prioritizing border security and immigration enforcement, including detention and deportation, is critical if we are to regain control of the border, repair the historic damage done by the Biden Administration, return to a lawful and orderly immigration system, and protect the homeland from terrorism and public safety threats.”
Trump has been executing this plan to near perfection in his first few weeks as president. With a flurry of executive orders, Trump has made unilateral decisions on not just immigration but diversity, education, taxes, and more. All of these follow the strategy described in Project 2025 to a T. Luckily for us, the American system of checks and balances is still relevant enough to delay Project 2025 somewhat. However, as the president continues to find ways to fill the other branches of government with air-headed yes-men, the strength of the government’s structural integrity for the next 4 years will be put to the ultimate test.
The question is no longer, “Does Trump have anything to do with Project 2025?” It’s, “What can we do to stand in his way?” When standing against the oppression of the elite, such questions rarely come with simple answers. However, despite the bleakness of the situation, Dennis Archer Sr. has a message of encouragement for all Americans under Trump’s new regime.
“We should use the knowledge we have and are gaining to strengthen our country. It should not be set up into a caste system where if you’re not wealthy you can’t do this and if you’re down here this is all we’ll let you do… Times are changing. Things are changing. We need to strengthen the best of America, And now’s the time to do it. We can’t fall victim to Project 2025. Because if we allow that to happen, America will never be the same.”
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