The former director of Project 2025, a right-wing plan for what Donald J. Trump could do in a second term as president, is sharply criticizing Mr. Trump’s campaign, accusing its two top advisers of a series of missteps, lack of preparation and overconfidence that he says have jeopardized Mr. Trump’s chances in November.The critique is the first public statement from Paul Dans, a longtime supporter of Mr. Trump, since he announced his departure from Project 2025 in late July. Mr. Dans oversaw the project for more than two years until Democrats publicized its proposals and turned it into a political liability for Mr. Trump. The former president ultimately disavowed the venture.In an interview, Mr. Dans, a lawyer who served several roles in the final two years of the Trump administration, blamed Mr. Trump’s senior advisers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, for the episode and for the close race. He urged Mr. Trump to replace the two consultants.“Trump should be running like Secretariat at the Belmont, but instead it’s a race to the wire,” Mr. Dans said.
His complaints reflect a discontent that has been simmering for weeks among a faction of Mr. Trump’s supporters on the right. Several media figures, activists and former Trump administration officials say they are worried by what they see as strategic mistakes this summer, followed by the campaign’s overtures to the center as it seeks to win over swing voters.
As is typical in Mr. Trump’s orbit, the complaints are rarely, if ever, aimed at the former president himself, but instead at his top aides. They recently grew so loud that the hashtag #FireLaCivita briefly trended on the social media network X.
A wave of summertime dissent was also a feature of Mr. Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. In those races, Mr. Trump responded by shaking up his campaign leadership. This year, Mr. Trump has given no indication that he intends to sideline his top advisers in the final weeks of the race.
“Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita have done a great job, I could not be more happy with them,” Mr. Trump said in a statement to The New York Times in response to Mr. Dans’s remarks.
Former Project 2025 Leader Accuses Trump Campaign Advisers of ‘Malpractice’
The remarks from Paul Dans, the former director of the policy initiative, revealed discontent on the right about what some see as a pivot to the center.
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Sept. 9, 2024
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The former director of Project 2025, a right-wing plan for what Donald J. Trump could do in a second term as president, is sharply criticizing Mr. Trump’s campaign, accusing its two top advisers of a series of missteps, lack of preparation and overconfidence that he says have jeopardized Mr. Trump’s chances in November.
The critique is the first public statement from Paul Dans, a longtime supporter of Mr. Trump, since he announced his departure from Project 2025 in late July. Mr. Dans oversaw the project for more than two years until Democrats publicized its proposals and turned it into a political liability for Mr. Trump. The former president ultimately disavowed the venture.
In an interview, Mr. Dans, a lawyer who served several roles in the final two years of the Trump administration, blamed Mr. Trump’s senior advisers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, for the episode and for the close race. He urged Mr. Trump to replace the two consultants.
“Trump should be running like Secretariat at the Belmont, but instead it’s a race to the wire,” Mr. Dans said.
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His complaints reflect a discontent that has been simmering for weeks among a faction of Mr. Trump’s supporters on the right. Several media figures, activists and former Trump administration officials say they are worried by what they see as strategic mistakes this summer, followed by the campaign’s overtures to the center as it seeks to win over swing voters.
As is typical in Mr. Trump’s orbit, the complaints are rarely, if ever, aimed at the former president himself, but instead at his top aides. They recently grew so loud that the hashtag #FireLaCivita briefly trended on the social media network X.
A wave of summertime dissent was also a feature of Mr. Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns. In those races, Mr. Trump responded by shaking up his campaign leadership. This year, Mr. Trump has given no indication that he intends to sideline his top advisers in the final weeks of the race.
“Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita have done a great job, I could not be more happy with them,” Mr. Trump said in a statement to The New York Times in response to Mr. Dans’s remarks.
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Mr. Trump, however, has brought in additional advisers. Last month, he added Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager Mr. Trump fired in 2016, to the team. He has also recently sought guidance from Ben Carson, Mr. Trump’s former housing secretary, as well as the independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Representative Tulsi Gabbard and the billionaire Elon Musk.
Mr. LaCivita and Ms. Wiles, both longtime Republican insiders, have forged close ties to important figures on the right, including Russell T. Vought, who directed the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump administration, and Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA.
In an interview, Mr. Kirk pushed back on Mr. Dans’s critique: “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.”
Raheem Kassam, editor in chief of The National Pulse, a right-wing news site, and a frequent guest host on “War Room,” the popular podcast hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, is among those who have been agitating for a leadership change for months.
In an interview, Mr. Kassam called himself the “ombudsman” and “chief public whip” for the loosely knit group of people — most of whom declined to speak publicly for fear of retribution — who remain concerned about the state of the campaign. He cast Mr. LaCivita and Ms. Wiles as most concerned with their opportunity for personal gain from the campaign. “I really don’t think Chris and Susie care if they win. I’ve never gotten that vibe,” he said.
Both Mr. Dans and Mr. Kassam said they viewed Mr. LaCivita as insufficiently committed to Mr. Trump’s movement and to his false claims about a stolen election in 2020. They also complained that the advisers were unprepared for President Biden to drop out of the race. Some also raised concerns that Mr. Trump’s stances on policy matters, including abortion and trade, have alienated significant portions of the party base, depressing
