NEW YORK — The leader of a conservative think tank orchestrating plans for a massive review of the federal government in the event of a Republican presidential victory said the country is in the midst of a “second American Revolution” that will be bloodless “if the left allows it.”
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts made the comments Tuesday on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, adding that Republicans are “in the process of taking back this country.”
Democrats are “apoplectic right now” because the right is winning, Roberts told former U.S. Rep. Dave Brat, guest host of the podcast, as Bannon serves a four-month prison sentence. “And so I come full circle in this response and just want to encourage you with some substance that we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it.”
Roberts’ remarks shed light on how a group promising to have significant influence over former President Donald Trump’s possible second term is thinking about this moment in American politics. The Heritage Foundation is leading Project 2025, a comprehensive roadmap for a new GOP administration that includes plans for aspects of dismantling the federal government It is dismissing thousands of public servants in favor of Trump loyalists, who will carry out a far-right agenda without complaint.
His call for revolution and vague reference to violence also unnerved some Democrats who interpreted him as threatening.
“This is scary,” wrote former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson on Social Platform X. “Their idea of a second American Revolution is to undo the first.”
James Singer, a spokesman for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, pointed to this week’s July 4th holiday in an emailed statement.
“248 years ago tomorrow, America declared independence from a tyrannical king, and now Donald Trump and his allies want to make it one at our expense,” Singer said, adding that Trump and his allies are “dreaming of a revolution violence to destroy the country itself.” idea of America.”
Roberts, whose name Bannon recently floated to The New York Times as a potential chief of staff option for Trump, also said on the podcast that Republicans should be encouraged by the Supreme Court’s recent immunity ruling.
He said Monday’s decision – which gives presidents broad immunity from prosecution — is “vital” to ensure that a president does not have to “guess, triple-guess every decision he is making in his official capacity.”
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said Roberts’ comments about a “second American Revolution” are “a little terrifying, but also enlightening.” The 1,000 Page Project 2025 book of songs calls for far-reaching changes in government, including reducing protections for the LGBTQ community and deeper infusion of Christianity into society.
“Roberts, the Heritage Foundation and their allies at Project 2025 want to reorder American society and fundamentally change it,” Beirich said. “He said the quiet part out loud.”
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