Paul Dans, who once headed the controversial Project 2025, has accused two of GOP nominee Donald Trump’s top advisers of multiple missteps, overconfidence and lack of preparation — all of which have already jeopardized Trump’s chances of winning the White House come November.
In late July, Dans — who has been a long-time Trump supporter — announced that he was stepping aside from Project 2025. He had overseen the project for more than two years, up until Democrats got a hold of the game plan, publicized its proposals and made it a political liability for Trump.
Ultimately, Trump disavowed Project 2025 completely, as it was being painted as a nightmare for U.S. citizens.
In a recent interview, Dans blamed Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita — two senior advisers to the Trump campaign — for the ordeal and for the fact that the presidential race is tight right now. He ultimately urged the GOP nominee to replace them.
As Dans said:
“Trump should be running like Secretariat at the Belmont, but instead it’s a race to the wire.”
Dans is among a group of right-wing conservatives who have expressed their concerns about what they have called strategic mistakes the Trump-Vance campaign has made over the summer.
The GOP nominee has also tried to move to the center a bit, as he is looking to win over the ever-important swing voters to defeat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
This isn’t new to Trump campaigns, though. Similar complaints were levied against his campaign in the summers leading up to both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Trump responded in both of those years by replacing up the leadership of his campaign. Thus far, the former president hasn’t given any indication that he intends to follow that same blueprint this time around.
In a statement issued to The New York Times responding to the remarks Dans made, Trump said:
“Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita have done a great job, I could not be more happy with them.”
At the same time, the GOP nominee has brought on additional advisers to his campaign. In August, Corey Lewandowski — who was fired back in 2016 as the Trump campaign manager — was added back to the team.
Trump has also reportedly sought out guidance from former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., entrepreneur Elon Musk, former Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Ben Carson, who served as the housing secretary during his first term in the White House.
Wiles and LaCivita have worked as Republican insiders for a while now and have been able to establish very close ties to many important conservative figures. One is Charlie Kirk, who co-founded the group Turning Point USA.
Kirk responded to Dans’ criticisms recently, saying in an interview:
“Chris and Susie are very competent, sophisticated and loyal to the president. I think they have their head on right. We’re in a good spot and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”
