DETROIT — President Joe Biden tore into the “right-wing Project 2025” and made it a central theme of his speech at a rally Friday in battleground Michigan as he seeks to put a lid on Democratic calls that he withdraw from the presidential race.
“Folks, Project 2025 is the biggest attack on our system of government and on our personal freedom that’s ever been proposed in the history of this country,” Biden told the crowd, adding that the initiative “is run and paid for by Trump people” and is “a blueprint for a second Trump.”
Biden, rousing the crowd with a more energetic performance than usual, said it would unleash a “nightmare” on the country if his Republican rival is elected and implements it. “Another four years of Donald Trump is deadly serious. Project 2025 is deadly serious,” Biden said, describing it as a threat to American values.
When he took the stage, Biden was greeted to chants of “Don’t you quit!” and “We got your back!” The president told them there’s “a lot of speculation lately” regarding whether he’ll stay in the race.
“I am running, and we’re going to win!” he said.
Project 2025 is a 900-page policy road map written by Trump allies and former administration officials, including Paul Dans and Spencer Chretien, in anticipation of a second Trump term. It would dismantle much of the U.S. government and replace it with federal workers loyal to Trump’s vision, as well as dramatically overhaul the tax code and impose abortion restrictions. It is helmed by the Heritage Foundation and backed by dozens of conservative groups.
Biden is zeroing in on Project 2025 as a mechanism to unify the Democratic Party as it splinters over his future in the race, following a shocking debate performance that some in the party see as politically fatal to his re-election prospects. Numerous voters at the rally stood by him and voiced displeasure with the Democrats calling on him to step aside. And it was clear the right-wing document has caught on across within the Democratic Party as a rallying cry for those eager to keep Trump out of the White House.
A Biden aide said the president’s campaign plans to continue focusing on Project 2025 at next week’s GOP convention.
Before Biden’s remarks at the Detroit rally, the first seven Michigan voters NBC News spoke to were all aware of Project 2025 — and had strong opinions on it.
“It’s horrific. It would totally dismantle our democracy, fill the whole government with loyalists to Trump,” said Deanna Zapico, of Royal Oak. “It would be like Hitler in 1933. There wouldn’t be an election in a long time. That’s my fear.”
“I’m sharing it with everybody,” Zapico said.
Deborah Fuertes, of Brighton, summed it up in one word: “Scary.”
“This is an existential threat,” she said.
Trump’s “name’s all over that thing,” said Angela Heard, a sales manager based in Grosse Pointe Woods. “If we don’t get our s— together we’re gonna be like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’”
A day before the rally, Trump sought to distance himself from the policy blueprint.
“I know nothing regarding Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it,” he wrote on social media. “The Radical Left Democrats are having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said.”
In an NPR/PBS/Marist poll released Friday, 16% of voters said they had a favorable opinion of Project 2025, while 42% had an unfavorable opinion. Another 42% weren’t sure or hadn’t heard of it.
At the rally, some Biden voters said they were frustrated or angry with the Democrats who are trying to push Biden out of the race, fretting that it weakens the party and plays into Trump’s hands.
“It’s a pivotal point,” said Mary McInnes, of South Lyon, who worried that it’s too late to change the nominee without adding chaos. “We are where we’re at, and we need to pull our voice together as one.”
Fuentes added: “We need to stop eating our own.”
Abby Clark, a longtime Democratic organizer and former campaign aide based in Detroit, said there is “intense fear” that Trump will win if Biden stays in the race.
“The vast majority of people I’ve spoken with are of a mind that it’d be ideal for the president to step back and let someone younger step up,” said Clark, who is affiliated with the volunteer Democratic group Pass the Torch.
Before Biden spoke, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist drew applause when he took a dig at the Democrats who want Biden out.
“I’ll tell you, some people are having a little too much fun getting on TV and talking trash regarding our president,” he said.
Heard said she believes Vice President Kamala Harris probably has a better chance to defeat Trump following the support Biden lost during the debate. Still, she hopes he stays in the race and wins a second term. And she believes Democrats need to stop attacking each other.
“I wish the Democratic Party would be like the Republican Party,” she said, referring to the unyielding GOP support for Trump despite his conviction and the other criminal charges he faces.
“They stand by him,” she said. “Let’s stand by our candidate.”
In a rarity for a Biden rally, the president took aim at the press.
“They’ve been hammering me,” he said, referring to the reporters in the room. “I sometimes confuse names,” he added. “But guess what? Donald Trump has gotten a free pass.”
After the rally, one woman walking out said the president’s performance was “amazing” — and just motivated her to volunteer to organize a get-out-the-vote effort for him this fall in Detroit.
