Exclusive: DNC launches billboards connecting Trump to Project 2025
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Photo: Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is launching billboards in 10 cities in battlegrounds linking former President Trump to Project 2025, the conservative plan that backs a dramatic expansion of presidential power.
Why it matters: Attention on Project 2025 has surged as more Americans tune into the presidential race. Democrats have pounced on that focus as they try to paint presumptive Republican nominee Trump as a threat to the U.S.
- The billboards that mark the DNC's first paid media on Project 2025 come as Trump has in recent weeks tried to distance himself from his allies' radical plans to transform the U.S. government.
Zoom in: Project 2025 was compiled by the conservative Heritage Foundation and is not an official Trump campaign platform, but several of his allies contributed to it.
- The plan would greatly expand the power of executive branch and allow the president to override checks that typically would limit his power.
- Trump has also laid out a vision for his second term that would include a dramatic expansion of federal power, particularly for the office of the presidency.
Driving the news: The billboards will be displayed in major metropolitan areas in the seven battlegrounds — Raleigh, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.
- They'll be in English and Spanish.
What they're saying: "Donald Trump and his Republican buddies are trying their best to hide their dark and sinister plans because they know that giving Trump limitless power, banning abortion with or without Congress, and gutting Social Security and Medicare don't go over well with voters," DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin said in a statement.
- "They know that when Americans hear about Project 2025, they do not support it."
Zoom out: The Biden campaign has also shone a spotlight on Project 2025, including by launching a website last month that highlights some of the policies from the playbook.
Go deeper: Behind the Curtain: Trump allies pre-screen loyalists for unprecedented power grab
