A concise account by an Atlantic journalist around the ostensible method behind the madness of the Trump administration. "The Project" is shorthand for "Project 2025", a manifesto produced by the right-leaning Heritage Foundation think tank. Its process was set in train following Trump's 2020 defeat. However, rather than describe it as a failure, the architects of the narrative believe Trump was failed by the system. In order to succeed, therefore, any future Republican president would have to rethink not only policy and politics, but also the more fundamental questions of how the government operates and who operates it. The vision embodied in The Project is plausible and compelling — at least to its adherents — but as Graham reveals effectively, it lacks coherence and consistency, not to mention the fact that it stands in the face of conventional wisdom (and science). How successful The Project will be remains to be seen, but if even some of its objectives do end up becoming policy, then the impact could be long-lasting and radical, undermining many of the checks and balances embedded in the American system. N/R.
By David Graham