Former President Donald Trump's attempt to distance himself from a problematic campaign platform crafted by his own former aides spurred an immediate uproar on both sides of the political aisle Friday.
Trump's claim that he knew "nothing" about the Project 2025, the latest source of a MAGA "freakout," was swiftly shut down by President Joe Biden's reelection campaign and condemned by conservatives.
"A desperate and lying Trump claims he knows 'nothing' about his Project 2025 agenda," the campaign wrote, "even though his top aides are the ones behind the plan."
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Despite Project 2025 leaders Paul Dans and Spencer Chretien boasting of their Trump administration tenure in their official bios, Trump claimed Friday, "I have no idea who is behind it."
White supremacist leader Nick Fuentes also expressed outrage, arguing Trump's comment proved the former president was being controlled by his financial backers.
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"I have been sounding the alarm about Trump’s assimilation into the establishment for some time now," Fuentes wrote. "People told me 'but Project 2025!' ... Face the reality: Trump24 is controlled by billionaires and will be staffed by the worst personnel imaginable."
Ammar Moussa, the Biden campaign's director of rapid response, unearthed a website funded by the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again called TrumpProject2025.com.
"Two choices," the site banner declares above pictures of Biden and Trump: "One solution."
Conservative activist Coreco Ja'Quan Pearson delivered a more measured rebuttal to Trump's disavowal.
"The problem isn’t and has never been Project 2025," he wrote. "The bulk of it is long overdue. While no one will set President Trump’s second term agenda other than President Trump, [President Kevin Roberts] and [the Heritage Foundation] should be commended for their leadership."
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich professed himself unimpressed by Trump's comment.
"Don't be fooled," he wrote. "The playbook is written by more than 20 officials Trump appointed in his first term. It is the clearest vision we have of a 2nd Trump presidency."
MSNBC analyst and Mother Jones D.C. bureau chief David Corn was equally cynical.
"This is BS," Corn replied. "Christian nationalist Russell Vought, who is one of the Trump allies in charge of the GOP platform effort, is a coordinator of Project 2025. Trump is gaslighting once again."
