How Project 2025 Uses Seven Tactics of Authoritarianism
Experts know how autocrats sabotage democracy. Here's how Project 2025 is a textbook blueprint for authoritarianism.
If you appreciate this crucial information about threats to our democracy, please subscribe and share this post with your network!
Threat of Authoritarianism
According to watchdogs Protect Democracy and Authoritarian Warning Survey, there is currently a “significant threat” to American democracy due to rising authoritarian threats.
Historically, authoritarian leaders like Stalin and Hitler have used “salami tactics” to slice up democracy one piece at a time. By undermining democratic institutions gradually over several years, these authoritarians lay the groundwork for someone like Trump to come in and take over. Though the process can seem slow or even nonsensical, we cannot underestimate its power.
No one wakes up to an authoritarian government that established itself overnight. The change comes so gradually that by the time people realize their rights have been demolished, it’s too late. Recognizing that our democracy is under threat is the first step to saving it.
And no modern document promotes authoritarianism at the price of democracy quite like Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership.
Authoritarian Tactics in Project 2025
Luckily for democracy advocates committed to safeguarding our fundamental rights, those establishing authoritarianism tend to use the same kinds of tactics. These patterns have been studied and documented by experts and scholars, which was then distilled into a framework exposing how autocrats sabotage democracy. Within this framework, seven clear tactics used by authoritarians to seize power have emerged.
Project 2025 and/or Trump have advocated for all seven tactics: politicizing independent institutions, consolidating executive power, quashing dissent, spreading disinformation, scapegoating vulnerable communities, corrupting elections, and stoking violence.
Politicizing Independent Institutions, Consolidating Executive Power, and Quashing Dissent
Project 2025 is not subtle about its attempts to suppress or dismantle governmental agencies and institutions in favor of more executive power. In fact, as soon as page 20, the manifesto states that “it is the President’s agenda that should matter to departments and agencies, not their own”. It also advocates for dismantling the Department of Homeland Security (page 133) and the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (page 155), among other institutions. It also calls for funding to be stripped from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (page 246), labeled a “liberal forum for public affairs and broadcasting”.
Not only do they want to dismantle or politicize agencies and institutions, Project 2025 authors actively advocate for replacing civil service employees who work for the American people with Trump-appointed MAGA sycophants under “Schedule F” (pages 80 and 535). Implementing Schedule F would severely damage checks and balances for the executive branch, creating a new authoritarian system of government where firing and hiring employees based on merit would cease to exist.
To further increase executive power, Project 2025 advocates for silencing or eliminating any dissent. For example, the mandate states that the President should revoke security clearances for intelligence officials (page 213), even going so far as to state that “no one in a leadership position on the morning of January 20 should hold that position at the end of the day” (page 173). Perhaps most concerning of all is how they plan to quash these dissident voices. On page 285, Project 2025 authors support changing the role of the Department of Justice, indicating they would have the DOJ police the country for dissent, rather than illegality.
Spreading Disinformation and Scapegoating Vulnerable Communities
Authoritarians lie purposely and actively spread disinformation. Project 2025 itself states several falsehoods, like commenting that crime is increasing (as early as page 11 in the Forward of the document) and stating that the FBI “has twice engaged in covert domestic election interference and propaganda operations—the Russian collusion hoax in 2016 and the Hunter Biden laptop suppression in 2020” on page 548. Not only does Project 2025 amplify known lies in the document, but it also calls for “prohibit[ing] the FBI from engaging, in general, in activities related to combating the spread of so-called misinformation and disinformation” (page 550). This would allow the Trump administration or another conservative campaign to widely claim falsehoods to make themselves look more favorable or their opponents less so.
Project 2025, like most pro-authoritarian documents, also attempts to sow division by attacking vulnerable groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community. For instance, on page 548, the document advocates for “rescind[ing] regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and sex characteristics” and states that sex is a “fixed biological fact” (page 334). Revoking protections for vulnerable populations could result in the destruction of their rights. The mandate also calls for ridding any LGBTQ+ content from libraries under the guise of protecting children from pornography, which is not only untrue but also dangerous.
Corrupting Elections and Stoking Violence
The last two tactics for authoritarianism are not mentioned as directly as the other few, as both corrupting elections and stoking violence are already common Trumpisms. However, the document does echo some common statements made by Trump voicing concerns about voting corruption to attempt to overturn election results they dislike. Trump himself infamously attempted to overturn the 2020 election results, inciting violence to do so. Trump has not only promoted brutality to win an election, he has also told violent white supremacist groups (like the Proud Boys) to “stand by.”
We must continue our fight for democracy. We cannot let Trump and his MAGA lackeys behind Project 2025 destroy the rights of all Americans. Democracy hangs in the balance now like never before.
Share The Truth About Project 2025
Here are a few graphics you can share on social media to explain the threat we face as a nation.
Share this video from the Reach App. (How to join Reach)
Share this graphic from the Reach App. (How to join Reach)
Thank you for this. While I feel like Trump is unraveling & isn't as big a threat individually, there will be others who want Project 2025 to go forward. The fight for our democracy will not end after this election & the next presidential candidate put forward by them will be smarter & mentally sharper. We can't become complacent.
Republicans don’t care.