Former President Donald Trump has been trying to distance himself from Project 2025, a political liability for Republicans. However, ties between the campaign and Project 2025 continue to emerge. One such connection is found in the acknowledgments page of a forthcoming book by Kevin Roberts, the President of the Heritage Foundation. The book, titled “Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America,” features a foreword written by J.D. Vance, which sparked media attention after Trump chose Vance as his vice president. Interestingly, the digital version of the book disappeared from a website where advance copies are shared with book reviewers.
The Intercept has reviewed the proof of the book’s acknowledgments page, where Roberts expresses his gratitude to various individuals. He thanks his Heritage Foundation colleagues, including Roger Severino, who wrote a chapter for Project 2025 advocating for further abortion restrictions. Roberts also acknowledges prominent conservative media personalities and praises Vance for inspiring him and millions of Americans with his story and leadership. The acknowledgments page isn’t the only part of the book that has been made public. The New Republic published Vance’s foreword, in which he quotes John Travolta’s character from “Pulp Fiction,” compares American politics to weeding gardens, and commends the book for articulating a fundamentally Christian view of culture and economics.
However, the core content of Vance’s endorsement in Roberts’s book, which some have referred to as the popular narrative version of Project 2025, remains undisclosed. The conservative braintrust behind Project 2025 has faced challenges recently, as organizations involved in drafting the document have distanced themselves. Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official who served as Project 2025’s director, stepped down, prompting a jubilantly sinister statement from the Trump campaign. The statement warned anyone misrepresenting their influence with President Trump and his campaign that it would not end well for them.
While Roberts released a statement praising Dans’s leadership and affirming that Project 2025 would continue its efforts, he has not commented on the status of his book. The book mysteriously vanished from NetGalley, a platform used by publishers to share advance copies with reviewers. The Intercept requested a copy on July 25, but the request function for that title was disabled shortly after. HarperCollins, the publisher, and its Broadside Books imprint, which specializes in conservative nonfiction, have not responded to inquiries about the book’s status or the reason for removing review copies.
According to HarperCollins, the book identifies institutions that conservatives need to build, take back, or deem too corrupt to save. The list includes federal agencies like the FBI and Department of Education, cultural institutions like the Ivy League and the Gates Foundation, and more. In recent weeks, the book’s title and cover were altered to remove inflammatory language. Previously, the book jacket featured a matchstick and the subtitle “Burning Down Washington to Save America.” The book description included a sentence about burning down institutions to preserve the American Way of life. HarperCollins embraced the controversy surrounding Project 2025, updating the Amazon page to mention Roberts as the “Project 2025 head” and alluding to his controversial comments about a “Second American Revolution.”
In the acknowledgments section, Roberts thanks “friends” like Tucker Carlson and Newt Gingrich for reviewing the draft and writing blurbs. He also expresses gratitude to K.T. McFarland, one of Trump’s former national security advisors, who wrote a blurb on the Amazon page. However, Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of The Federalist, is thanked for writing a blurb but hers has not been published on the site. Hemingway criticized the Trump campaign’s dig at Project 2025, suggesting that Trump is disregarding his loyal foot soldiers and their conservative ideas.
Roberts also acknowledges several conservative politicians who were vital to the book, including Rep. Chip Roy and Sen. Mike Lee. He describes having long and esoteric discussions about conservatism with them. The Intercept reached out to Roberts and the Heritage Foundation for comment, but they did not respond.
In conclusion, the connections between Project 2025 and the Trump campaign continue to emerge, causing political headaches for Republicans. The forthcoming book by Kevin Roberts, featuring a foreword by J.D. Vance, has attracted attention, especially after the disappearance of its digital version from a review-sharing website. While some parts of the book have been made public, the core content of Vance’s endorsement remains undisclosed. The conservative braintrust behind Project 2025 has faced setbacks, with key figures distancing themselves. The book’s publisher, HarperCollins, made changes to the title and cover to remove inflammatory language but embraced the controversy surrounding Project 2025. The acknowledgments section of the book includes thanks to influential figures like Tucker Carlson and Newt Gingrich, as well as conservative politicians who played a vital role. However, questions about the book’s status and the removal of review
