Wisconsin. news, by now, most people have
heard of project 2025, a conservative blueprint to
federal government. The plan is especially came into focus in
recent weeks as Democrats ramped up attacks against Donald Trump,
even though the head of project 2025 stepped down this week amid
intense criticism, conservative leaders say that work isn't yet
done "Here& Now". Reporter Nathan Denzin describes the
conservative action plan and why opponents are warning a second
Trump term could be a threat to democracy.
>> Opponents messaging against Donald Trump has been clear he's
a threat to democracy. >> Ours is a fight for the
future. And it is a fight for freedom.
substantially more dangerous than Trump 1.0.
>> He's told us that he wants to be a dictator on day one, but
Republicans disagree. >> I don't believe he's a threat
to democracy. statement that was made by the
Democrats. >> Kamala Harris, now the
presumptive nominee as the Democratic candidate for
president, talked about the perceived threat in her visit to
Milwaukee. country of freedom, compassion
and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?
>> Fears like Donald Trump becoming a dictator?
>> You would never abuse power as retribution against anybody
except for day one. Yeah, except for he's going crazy. Except for
day one. Meaning I want to close the border and I want to drill.
That's not a drill. That's not. >> It's just not. It's just not
language that you kind of ideally want somebody to use.
>> Julia Azari is a professor of political science at Marquette
University, but he's sort of saying is, even for a day, we're
going to eliminate the kind of guardrails and other takes and
perspectives. dumb? I mean, how can you be
that gullible and believe what the media and pundits are making
up? from Florida who visited
Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention for one day.
>> I want him to be like every other, like just like Biden was
on the first day. All the executive orders that he put in
place to ruin this country. >> Walters, like many
Republicans say, Democrats are blowing Trump's comments out of
proportion or taking him out of context.
that people say. The Bible says a foolish man believes
everything he hears. I would be curious to have that
conversation with him in terms of what he meant. What's the
context of those comments? >> Pastor Lorenzo is a
Republican from Detroit who came to Milwaukee to speak at the
RNC. God on this man's life. You
can't deny that God protected him. There have been a lot of
threats to democracy. I don't believe he's one of those.
>> Our evaluation of the evidence and our evaluation of
how this has played out in other contexts has led us to be
pretty, pretty alarmed, Azari pointed out.
>> Trump's rhetoric has already led to violence in the past on
January 6th, and we fight. >> We fight like hell. And if
you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a
country anymore. >> He has encouraged and
continues to encourage political violence. Not only does he
encourage it, he supports it. He endorses it. He condones it.
>> It's up to us, the people, to make sure that he doesn't get
that chance. >> Harry Dunn and Daniel Patrick
Hodges were police officers in the US Capitol during the
insurrection on January 6th. They came to Madison in May to
campaign for President Biden. Both say they were attacked by
the angry mob. >> I'd call January 6th a dry
run. Except it wasn't. It was a real attempt.
told us they were there because Donald Trump sent them. That's
not my opinion. Those are their words. As they were attacking
officers. >> 13 Wisconsinites have been
indicted for their role in the insurrection. While federal
through cases, especially when it comes to giving up power and
leaving office. a real sticking point.
>> Those fears have been inflamed by project 2025, the
sweeping proposal by ultra conservative allies to Trump
would radically change the federal government. Project 2025
includes proposals to restrict abortion nationwide, allow for
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, use the FBI
to go after political enemies, suspend immigrants due process,
and proceed with mass deportations. Eliminate the
Department of Education and all environmental protections. And
>> On day one, I was signed a new executive order to cut
federal funding of any school, pushing critical race theory,
transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or
political content onto the lives of our children.
>> It just takes it in a much more radical and ideological
direction and consolidates that presidential power.
himself from Project 2025 in recent weeks, saying on social
media, quote, I know nothing about project 2025. I have no
idea who's behind it. But over 200 people affiliated with his
campaign were also involved in the creation of project 2025.
>> I think Donald Trump manifestly poses a threat to the
American political system, and I don't think that's theoretical
any longer. >> Charlie Sykes is an author
and former host of a popular Milwaukee conservative talk
>> He tried to overturn a fair and free election. He incited a
mob to attack the Capitol. >> Sykes said that he voted with
Republicans for more than 20 years, but broke with the party
in 2016 after Trump secured the nomination.
his next presidency would be a presidency of retribution. He's
openly talked about using the power of the federal government
to go after and punish his opponents.
that. He's had this sort of impact on the tone of politics.
>> It's very unlikely that the Republican Party, in either the
House or the Senate would serve as any sort of a bulwark against
those kinds of extreme measures. >> Republicans at the RNC had a
different response to the project 2025 proposals.
>> Republicans, we want to have the American dream. We want
everybody to live that American dream.
>> Terrence Wall was a Republican delegate at the RNC
from Wisconsin's second congressional district.
>> They project their own storyline onto others. So they
they are the threat to democracy.
of Trump's time as a real estate developer, he's participated in
democracy more than just about anybody else.
>> He sponsored the democratic process to get projects
approved, you know, dealing with neighborhood associations, plan
commissions, hundreds of commissions and committees and
cities, you know, councils. >> More recently, a jury
convicted Trump of 34 felonies for falsifying business records
in May. >> I don't think that there's
any question after January 6th what he is capable of doing.
>> Trump has shown us who he is. He's shown us what he stands
for, and he's shown us that he wants to be president for life,
regardless of what the people voted for and regardless of who
the president is, if they consolidate power in a certain
way, that's still anti-democratic, hopefully we
to preserve our democracy and to preserve our democracy and