How do the Republicans feel about Project 2025 now?

I know a couple life-long Republicans I sometimes briefly talk about politics with (one family, one acquaintance). Neither of them like Trump, but like the idea around Project 2025. One is an evangelical Christian, the other is a Catholic.
The Catholic strongly believes government should be run like a business, and the president should be like a CEO, so he should be able to fire everyone and replace them, if needed, with workers that will execute his plans. He's also an anti-abortion, and tough-on-crime/immigration type. However, he strongly disapproves of Trump seemingly being pro-Russian now, Trump and his cabinet's personal lives (he's always strangely fixated on people's personal lives, in a moral sense, for some reason), the take-over of the FBI and CIA, and the tariffs hurting his stock portfolio.
The evangelical Christian just doesn't like Trump as a person, and doesn't like Russia. He's a just-world-hypothesis, small government, women are subservient, pro-business type; but also low/lower-middle-class, and has needed, and will need the social services he opposes. I guess his opinions are pretty similar to the Catholic's, just a little more extreme on the social side, and supports policies that have always hurt him. I mean, Republican policies hurt the (fairly wealthy) Catholic too, but at least they get to say their taxes are lower and there's less red-tape.
- He wants a king, not a democracy
- “Government should be run like a business” sounds like a totalitarian religion.
  So basically the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted with separation of powers and checks and balances, right?
  I thought these people were cosplaying traditionalists.
  
  Yeah, these people are ignorant of and don't care about civics. The ignorance of the one guy surprised me, because they went to a decent college, but didn't even know what gerrymandering was. They are un-american, IMO.
- He thinks the president should hire/fire anyone they want, but they dislike the people the president has been choosing.
- Interesting. Thanks for the time man.
- No offense but your personal experience does not characterize an entire religion. 2 people do not speak for 2 religions unless one of those people is the Pope.
  The reality is people often use the guise of religion as an excuse for them to act a certain way when in reality they are just bigots.
  
  Didn't mean to paint entire religions. It was just a convenient way to differentiate the 2 people I was talking about, and to imply where their motivations may come from. I've known plenty of less right-wing Catholics and Protestants. I am an anti-theist though, and think religion does more harm than good.
  
  Idk I grew up as a fundamentalist. It the religion is shitty without the toxic politics.

Project 2025 is the most double talky I've ever seen Donald Trump. "Project 2025? Nope, never seen it, never heard of anything in it, but it's got some great ideas. I'm not going to follow it and I don't have anything to do with it but I hear it has some really good ideas, but I won't be adhering to them."
Reminds me of the "Unite The Right" rally where he wouldn't really condemn anyone: "Those folks are really nasty, but also there's a lot of good folks."
I think this is part of his "charm". He double talks, so if you are a fan you perk up on the positives and let your eyes glass over during the bad parts.
- this was actually a key part of Hitler's strategy. early on in the Nazi meetings they would try to pin down and give an exact agenda and set of policies.
  he would yell at everyone that they're missing the point. it's more about the vibe than the logic. being vague and ambiguous keeps your options open.
  "It is not truth that matters, but victory." Adolph
  By refusing precise definitions, you are able to retroactively decide what the ideology "always meant". so when it's convenient to hate against health insurance CEOs you are "against the swamp". when it's convenient to dismantle the government you are "against the swamp"
  it can mean whatever you want it to. similar with the "enemies of the state"
  nazis would use the word marxists or "degenerates" very loosely. makes it very easy to shift blame to a specific target or another when necessary
  berlin's degeneracy is because of gays, somewhere else it may be gypsies, another it's the jews, etc.
  today we see phrases like "radical leftists" "cultural marxists" "woke ideology" etc
  a federal judge blocked some of Trump's orders (Trump ignored it of course) and what does he call him? a radical left judge. something that couldn't be further from the truth- radical left would imply some type of communist or socialist. but it doesn't really matter because the term is vague enough it can work

I live surrounded by republicans and they are super happy with all the good things Trump is doing together with puppet master Musk. Everything that he said during his fake State of the Union was truth and proof of his many victories during the first 2 months of his presidency. I tried once to bring up how the tariffs are sales tax for Americans (making life even more unaffordable), because I thought that would be something nobody could disagree with, and weeks later I’m still getting shit about it. I am convinced that he could launch a nuke on a ‘lib city’ and most of the republicans would still applaud it. In a cult the leader is always right and is never to blame for the bad.
- There’s a guy in the news at the moment who has started a GoFundMe for a legal defence for his wife who has been deported. Says he doesn’t regret his vote for Trump.
  
  Complete non sequitur, but i knew someone about 20 years ago that referred to herself as Sara Tonin. Hope she's doing ok.
- It's crazy. How many Democrats do you know that had Joe Biden profile pictures? I know people can't tell their in a cult usually. But man they make it obvious most of the time.
  
  I got into an argument with my dad a couple days ago about this exact thing.
  I was bitching that despite being given unlimited power, Biden just fucked off and let the carion eaters have their way with the corpse of America. His response? "It's all Biden's fault." He's being sarcastic and thinks he's making fun of maga, but he's right. This shit is Biden's fault. And Garland's, and all the other bitches in Blue. He actually thinks I'm defending fucking TRUMP when i point out Dems fuckups. He goes on and on about how politics isn't a team sport, but then he engages in fucking tribalism, just like the magats.
  It's infuriating.
- yea it seems they are into this idea that manufacturing will come back in the united states. nevermind that the equity growth and low prices of goods these guys are enjoying are due to the united states not manufacturing things, getting things through trade while exporting intellectual property instead. nothing they are doing is going to bring down home prices. it's objectively a misunderstanding of economics.

Most are fine with it. Remember the people that died of covid denying it existed the whole time? That's the type. They're dumb af.
- People who have never experienced oppression just thinking it’s business as usual.
  Wearing a mask ain’t oppression either 😂
  
  That's part of the problem, a lot of people don't realize they are the oppressors
- And all of those people who had family die from covid and still thought masks were a form of thought control
- i forgot about that haha.
- What do we call the Herman cain award now?
- Not quite about just project 2025 but Nate Silver from what used to be 538 has Trump aggregated disapproval rating at 49.8% as of 03/20/25. That up from 40% in 2 months.
  Source: https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin
  
  Nate silver showed he was full of shit in 2016. Idk why anyone still listens to him.

Just for some perspective: in 2009 I was a Christian nationalist and I thought Obama was going to use FEMA to imprison conservative dissenters and would turn the US into a communist dictatorship. I hoped and prayed for an explicitly Christian government and an end to most federal programs. If I had the same worldview now, I would be orgasmically happy with the way things are going.
- How in the name of sweet baby imaginary white Jesus did you get out of that mindset!?
  
  Not the person you replied to but I also used to be a hardcore Christian conservative.
  Honestly just talking to people with different viewpoints than me. Back when Reddit was decent I would troll with conservative BS to get a rise out of commenters, but occasionally people would reply with points I couldn't refute. Making IRL friends helped a lot too. I realized people actually have nuance in their opinions and there's a lot more gray area than I realized. Leaving religion was the last step for me. Once my identity was no longer my beliefs I was able to change them.
  Its part of what scares me about the internet now, we all get locked in little echo chambers. Nobody's viewpoints get challanged and there's no honest debate any more. Defederated social media will only make it worse as there will be 10,000 different Lemmys, each one for an exactly specific set of beliefs that will never be questioned.
- Pray tell what changed your view?
  
  Reality
- I'd also be interested in hearing about how you changed your views.
  
  Not even trying to be mean but probably themself or someone they know personally got hurt.
- What denomination, primarily, were you? Did you manage to get anyone out with you? (I was unable.)

You're very unlikely to get a response from a Republican on Lemmy
- Truth.
  Some will call Lemmy an echo chamber. Personally, I don't give a damn. Sharing platforms with far-right lunatics is a deeply unpleasant experience.
  
  I don't need dumbass opinions in any chamber I'm occupying, Republicans can stay gone for all I care
  I like to fuck with em when I can. Keep the space hostile to them, it worked for punk bars it works for us.
  
  It would be one thing if we were debating different ways to solve health care, education, incarceration, mental health, homelessness, wealth inequality, or something else.
  While I personally think the right is wrong in their solutions I’d be happy to debate them.
  But the right isn’t talking about these issues or solutions for them. You can’t have a debate when you’re talking about two completely different things.
  
  As much as I can understand your point, it's a truth that if you can argue against your beliefs, you have a full understanding of both sides. You should be well versed in order to provide a solid understanding. Just as one side wants the other to hear reason, there has to be a common ground somewhere.
  
  Exluding intolerance doesn't result in an echo chamber.
  
  Truth
- I don't expect them, either, but normal people might come in and share their experiences with Republicans.
- "What do you mean you arent forced into 2 sentences max and have to structure your thoughts ??2?"
  
  More like "how do I make an account? I give up. Fucking immigrants ruining my signup process".
- Even if you got a response it will likely not be genuine. They'd rather save face than say they were wrong.
- Don't kid yourself, they're here. Make sure they know they aren't welcome.
- And very unlikely to get a serious response about P2025. They just have no response
- I like it like that.

At this point, I don't know why Republicans don't outright just say they want people who they see as less than them suffering and/or dead. That's their only consistent political view.
- Studies show that people on the left are more trusting of others in general than those on the right. It is reflected in their obsession with guns and their rejection of social programs.
  
  Leftist ideology is at its core about people. Even when it is wrong, it's wrong trying to help people.
  The right is just about power. The only mistakes it makes are actions that cost it power.
- So many of them are in denial about it themselves. It's very strange indeed.

The older ones are hearing stories of social security being canceled on people like them and they are getting nervous. My vehement Trump supporting co-workers are having trouble backing things he does. The cracks are small and slow but the confidence in their statements of support are getting weaker. I think some support is eroding, but it’s slow. It’s really going to have to affect them more directly for it to fully erode sadly. Though I think it will, the damage the right will inflict in the mean time will change this country for generations.
- Trump knows that his supporters are going to turn on him eventually, which is why he’s working so hard to set up an infrastructure that can crush opposition without due process. He’s also testing the waters about ignoring court orders.
  If the supreme court lets him use the AEA then that means the president can use war-time statutes without Congress needing to declare a war, which means that he’ll be able to use a different statute to deploy the military on US territory. At that point, US democracy is officially over.
- You can tell it's hitting, every repub that was loud af about trump this trump that good idea this good idea that. The only thing I've heard lately is the CRT stuff that they just don't understand because they're unable to see anything from anyone else's perspective and one of their buddies kids asked their parents about the racist comments they were making and if they were racist.
- Wait till they officially start calling for a constitutional amendments and they suddenly start losing some of their own rights. But by then who knows what it’s gonna look like.
- I have one word:
  Eggs.
  
  “Shut up about eggs”
  Trump’s retweet
- Well historically, that doesn't really matter all that much. They just stop talking about it openly and continue to quietly support it and vote for it.

Edit: apparently the part in OP starting "From a Republican..." is not meant to imply that OP is a Republican. As it lacked a main verb, I assumed it was ultimately meant as a relative clause and misassigned it to "I". Leaving this comment anyway but it doesn't apply to OP.
I appreciate you taking the time to write this post, and I appreciate you noticing this trend.
But I've got to be honest: the writing was on the wall the whole time. Being in the Republican bubble doesn't really change the fact that you only get here from a lack of critical thinking and a general susceptibility to propaganda. These are things that many people spend time and resources getting educated about. It's hard to have sympathy when the whole country is now suffering because so many were so sure they knew better.
If I sound angry, I am. I do hope you take it constructively, but you also need to understand: most of the damage has already been done. It doesn't really matter how you feel from here on out, because the deed (from voters) is done.
- I voted for Harris lol, and that was because I thought she was the lesser of the two evils overall. I wish Michelle Obama ran for office.
  
  Then how was it that you "believed Trump's words"?

I don't know any republicans personally but I would not be surprised if, given a choice between admitting fault and feeling bad, or literally any other option including lying or violence, they won't admit fault. If they weren't emotionally stunted, they wouldn't be conservatives.
- This is why blaming conservatives or getting them to admit fault doesn't work. It only makes them become more defensive and entrenched.
  A better approach is to appeal to their victim complex. IE: Instead of "Trump is ruining this country and its your fault for voting for him!" try "Dude, Trump is screwing us! This isn't the great America we were promised!" or some variation of that. Gotta use different tactics.
  
  Yeah, you have to make them see you as a member of a shared in-group. That's the most important thing to them (and many people, honestly. we're all susceptible to tribalism and such)
  
  I’m not sure it’s possible to blame Trump rather than his voters when he literally promised to make most of these changes. It might be more effective to say that Trump was misled by Musk.
- I have literally stopped speaking to my parents over this and have put the ball in their court, telling them that all they need to do is re-evaluate their position about this one fucking guy and admit they were wrong.
  And I guess they're fine with just not speaking to their son instead.
- Humans in general are very hesitant to admit that they were wrong. Cult members doubly so.
  
  It's so unfortunate too, because so many of our society's current ills can literally be boiled down to "so and so refused to admit they were wrong"

Republicans lie. As any fascist party, they don't have any consistent ideology beyond hurting people. They'll invent whatever reasoning and justification they need to justify their bullying, and they'll immediately abandon that reason for another convenient excuse when necessary.
Republicans lie. They knew damn well what Project 2025 was, and they were in favor of all of it. When they said Trump had nothing to do with it, they were lying. Republicans ultimately don't care what happens to society, or even themselves personally. They would gladly vote to lower the quality of their own lives, as long as the undesirables were hurt in equal measure.

Oh no, the lying liar who is best known for lying about literally everything lied and gullible people believed it (or conveniently ignored it, or didn't care or thought it was just peachy because they thought it wouldn't apply to them and were perfectly fine with it applying to other people)? Who could possibly have predicted that? Oh wait, I think literally every left wing person in the US predicted that.

They don't think Trump and Musk are doing anything wrong. When quizzed they'll ask you to name anything they've done wrong.
Everything Trump and Musk are doing is guised in Libertarian and Conservative values.So nothing wrong has been done on their eyes.
If you go places like r/JordanPeterson (to ask) and r/Conservative to observe the media landscape - you'll see that "The Woke" are wrong and have turned violent against Tesla. You'll see Trump and Musk are thought of as doing great things.
That's how they think. They're not in the same media landscape as everyone else is.
- That’s how they think. They’re not in the same media landscape as everyone else is.
  This is literally the cause of all our issues. Fucking propagandists creating an alternate "reality" for Magoos to exist within where they are the good guys fighting the evil evil communist far left scum.
  I can blame a Magoo for being so susceptible to hate filled ppropaganda, but I really REALLY fucking despise the propagandists with every fiber of my being. If there were ever a group of people that deserved a firing squad it would be those like Sean Hannity who know exactly what they're doing...
  
  But they also think you're in an alternative reality because of "leftist reactionaries" over blowing things in the media. Some of them would probably go as far to say that "We need anti-propaganda laws against the left wing media"....
  ...the problem for the left is, the right wing "alternative facts, alternative media landscape" is unfortunately MORE REAL in a legal sense because they own SCOTUS, and SCOTUS want to institute Unitary Executive theory... Which is what they're doing.
  It's a very clean sounding bunch of words for a kind of fascism.
- When quizzed they’ll ask you to name anything they’ve done wrong.
  Why is this a thing? I've seen that so many times. "Oh yeah, well name Trump's indictments" as if they got a trump card.
  And, well... uhh there's a summary right here. What do they expect? Secret knowledge? As if pretending nobody knows that they are gives them leverage? I don't understand.
  
  They'll say a mix of "He's clearly not guilty because nothing stuck! Teflon Don!" and "You shouldn't go after politicians personal lives" and "Sucks for you he's President now! You're just a sore loser."
  ...that might make you mad, which they enjoy.
- I think it's so funny that Republicans have found this magical loophole to excuse just about any action by just saying it's woke. The second anything is called woke, it instantly must be destroyed and there's no disputing it because it is just simply too woke. Shit at this point I wouldn't be surprised at all if Trump said that zelensky and Ukraine has gone woke and they will send military aid to Russia to stop them
  
  This administration is woke ...
  Fuck, that didn't work.
- Tell them research into women's medical conditions (like endometrial cancer) is no longer allowed. I'd love to know how they'd spin that one as positive.
  
  The problem is their spin isn't designed to be positive or have mass appeal. It's designed to create fervent followers who are desperate for something different and a sense they're winning.
  In your example I believe the response for them would be something along the lines of "Good, women shouldn't be getting special treatment anyways - END DEI !!!"
- “Mental landscape”?

YouGov has good data
I don't see any drastic changes on Trump's approval, but there's unfavorablity across the board otherwise
https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/explore/public_figure/Donald_Trump
https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/51856-congressional-democrats-government-cuts-deportations-immigration-economy-march-16-18-2025-economist-yougov-poll
- This is a cool website. Thank you.

Like it's their third rail of blow and their homie just picked up another ounce.

According to my neighbors on neighborhood.com, it's fake news. Seriously. They simply don't believe Trump has anything to do with it.
- Pretty much. Somethings are going to be the same, they're just that obvious, the sky is blue, water is wet, and we should deport illegal immigrants. But a lot of p25 goes well beyond that.

Religious conservatives love project 2025. Most Republicans are Religious, so they love it.
- Religious conservatives love project 2025. Most Republicans are ~~Religious~~ brainwashed Christofascists, so they love it.
  
  I approve of this edit

Ask the guy who had his wife deported and is still supporting Trump.
- I'd prefer to never have to interact with someone that hateful and stupid.

However they’re told to feel

The person i was talking to about it said that he doesn't want Project 2025 put in place, but also voted Trump and (as you said) said Trump "doesn't have anything to do with that".
When I went to talk to them again after the election, he had either deleted his account or blocked me after I ask about Trump appointing many involved with Project 2025.
- i am guessing this would the case on an average. thanks though

I still don't see them as Trump's actual plan.
I'm like one of three conservatives here, do you really expect a response?
- i was hoping for a response yes. and really hoping for an actual intellectual as well.
  so what makes you think it isn't trumps plan? even though you can follow the progress online of p2025 and trump is checking off each objective.
  what do you see p2025 as? and do you think it will make america "awesome again"
  
  I see Trump's plan as Trump's plan. P25 holds some similarities, some things are just that obvious, like illegal immigrants should be deported, but it's not Trump's plan. P2025 is it's own thing, some wishlist created by some think tank that got picked up by the news because it's so stereotypical.
  I think that Trump's plan is an attempt to put America back on the right track economically.
  Protective tariffs for instance, are a pretty standard way of protecting domestic industry. It's expensive to comply with OSHA and labor laws, it's a lot cheaper to make stuff in China and ship it over here. Tariffs make it so that it's no longer cheaper. Bernie Sanders agrees, even if can't directly agree with Trump. https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/sanders-statement-on-trump-tariffs/
  Does p25 have anything on tariffs? No, they don't.
  P25 does have stuff on things like racial discrimination, which no politician in their right mind would support.
  
  so what makes you think it isn't trumps plan?
  They're an idiot, duh
  Their name is eerily close to a reference to a famously horrible and Nazi-infested (like, actually) instance, especially given their previously discussed viewpoint, so they're probably also a Nazi openly lying about their beliefs
- Thanks for being honest. What is Trumps actual plan?
  
  Trump's plan is an attempt at putting America's economy back on track. Protective tariffs, less "aid" to foreign nations, deporting illegal immigrants, not acting like the world's police when it's Europe that will be affected most, that sort of thing.

Schools won't cost 3-6x as much stupid LIBTARD! Schools will cost 3-6x as much and your Taxes will be Raised to pay for the CEOs Mansion STUPID COMMIE!
- That sounds about right

they're not going to "snap out of it". what he does for them isn't the point. he could personally fire each and every Republican and fuck every one of their wives but as long as he's a big tough guy triggering the libz, it's all fine. this is just 21st century politics now.
- Dang. At least in Black Mirror 21st century politics got to be shadow-ruled by an animated blue dog puppet, which took a modicum of the edge off the oppression.
  
  I remember finding that episode annoying when it first came out.
  I watched it again after 2016, and boy did I view it differently.

Serious answers only.
The worlds too dark to take anything too seriously right now.
- I just meant like no "Kamala Harris genocide derrererre" comments or someone changing the subject because libs
  
  You're not gonna get an answer here. Try asking on a random Instagram APNews thread. Most of the answers you'll get are from bots, but Republicans are taught to parrot whatever they say, so it's basically the same thing

Do you think that Project 2025 isn't what a bunch of conservatives want? It didn't just come from one person. A bunch of people wanted to vote for this.
- ive known about it and who wrote it when it first showed up online. i know its a hardcore Christian conversion of the USA and i see it as the US turning into some sort of north korea

Please insert face in designated slot; the next available leopard will feast on it momentarily.
- That gave me a very odd image of vend-a-leopard-eating-your-face.

Honestly we knew that, even if Trump wasn't involved, the people around him were. Y'all are too gullible. Even today I see posts on Lemmy about "Elon did this, Trump did that", pure noise draining out the real news that happens once or twice a week.

Really, already 50%!?
- Closer than you might think. 41%
  https://www.project2025.observer/
- https://www.project2025.observer/

Why do you ask this question here? Do you actually want to know?

You were lied to, unfortunately. Project 2025 was always their plan, and as you're seeing now, they're going full steam ahead with it. The best thing you can do now is learn from this mistake. Don't trust what politicians tell you they want, or tell you they're doing; see for yourself what they're actually doing.
By the way, you're going to get responses from like 95% leftists since it's lemmy. Doesn't mean they're wrong though.
- What? Bro I voted for Harris lmao. I'm also a wannabe Canadian, don't like this country.
  
  The period is tripping everyone up lmao
  I honestly need to know. From an actual Republican who believed trumps words
- What kind of a moron believes anything a politician says, especially a openly fascist cunt
  
  Like 80% of the US apparently