Why Project 2025 and the Republican platform bash California

A photo collage of Trump, Biden, Democratic leaders from California and Kevin Roberts on a sideways yellow image of the state

By Defne KarabaturAudience Engagement Editor

July 18, 2024 6:01 AM PT

Good morning. It’s Thursday, July 18. Here’s what you need to know to start your day:

Project 2025 is on a collision course with California.
We’re bracing for another heat wave.
These are California’s dirtiest beaches.
And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

Project 2025 and GOP platform strategy: Blast California and possible Biden replacements

A large image of an orange fire on a stand between Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump as they sit and talk across a large table

After former President Trump survived an assassination attempt last Saturday and was lauded by former GOP rivals at the party’s national convention in Milwaukee, the Republican Party is riding a wave of momentum.

For conservative think tank leader Kevin Roberts and other acolytes, Trump’s reelection would signify a great triumph as they could begin implementing their plan for a massive overhaul of the federal government, also known as Project 2025.

Trump says he knows “nothing” about the project and considers some of the plan’s ideas “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” But the 900-plus-page manifesto released last year was also worked on by prominent Trump advisors and former appointees.

A Heritage Foundation spokesperson told The Times that Project 2025 is a product of more than 100 conservative organizations and “does not speak for any candidate or campaign.”

As the president of the Heritage Foundation, Roberts routinely accuses California’s Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom of being out-of-touch liberal elites who are destroying the country — a theme that also comes up in the 16-page Republican Party platform.

My colleague Kevin Rector reported on the issues at play and the fight ahead:

To be, or not to be, California

Both Project 2025 and the GOP platform emphasize that California is a failing state, unable to control crime, homelessness and regulation.

“Instances of California really going in a different direction from what the Republican Party wants is all over the [Project 2025] report,” Bruce Cain, a political science professor at Stanford University, told Kevin. “Everything from diversity, equity and inclusion … to high tech [companies] to homelessness.”

Both documents hope that Trump will use the powers of the executive branch to counter numerous California policies, such as those that protect undocumented immigrants, the environment, unionized workers, people seeking abortions and transgender youth.

For example, the GOP platform aims to “cut federal funding” to major California cities such as Los Angeles that do not use their police forces or city personnel to enforce immigration laws.

Other goals in Trump’s platform that contrast sharply with California policies include letting the oil and gas industry “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” and strengthening “parental rights.” Citing the state’s requirement for LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula in schools, and a recent bill Newsom signed that bans schools from notifying parents whose kids use new gender identities if the students don’t want that information shared, the document and says such rules amount to “inappropriate political indoctrination of our children.”

Project 2025 is much more passionate about its position against California policies, calling on Trump, if elected, to “make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors.”

Apart from urging the removal of all references to queer identities, “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and abortion and “reproductive health” from federal legislation and rules, the plan suggests that the Trump administration should “push as hard as possible to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction in America,” by working with Congress to enact antiabortion laws and enforce state reporting of abortion data to the federal government.

Critics argue that such actions would equip conservative states that ban abortions with the power to identify and punish those who go to liberal states such as California for the procedure.

Conservatives look to discredit possible Biden replacements from California

Democrats, including Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, have repeatedly tied Project 2025 to Trump and have criticized it for calling for the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Education, cuts to Social Security and a nationwide abortion ban.

Anna Kelly, a Republican National Committee spokesperson, defended the GOP platform, writing to Kevin to say it “contains commonsense policies like cutting taxes, securing the border, ending absurd [electric vehicle] mandates, securing our elections, defending our constitutional rights, and keeping men out of women’s sports.”

“If reporters find those principles contradictory to values pushed by California leaders,” Kelly wrote, “maybe it’s time for Democrats to evaluate how their state is run.”

The debate over Biden’s ability to defeat Trump has remained prominent. If Harris or Newsom replace Biden, experts said, the conservative mockery of California and its policies will only increase, finding a larger sympathetic audience across the country.

If Trump wins, experts said, California will have to lead the liberal resistance against Trump’s agenda, just as it did during his first term.

Today’s top stories

Adam Schiff speaks at a lectern bearing a blue-and-white sign reading "Adam Schiff for Senate"

The Biden situation

Adam B. Schiff called on Biden to drop out, saying in an exclusive statement to the L.A. Times that he has ‘serious concerns’ over whether Biden can win.
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to withdraw, a new poll found.
California’s delegation could play a pivotal role at the Democratic National Convention — depending on Biden.

More on J.D. Vance

Before going MAGA, he made big money in San Francisco’s tech world.
What Trump’s crowning of Vance means for the MAGA movement.

Tired of 2024 election news?

The 2026 race for California‘s lieutenant governor has begun to take shape.

Brace for another heat wave

Dangerously hot temperatures will spread across California’s interior this weekend.
Thinking about jumping into a lake or stream in L.A. to beat the heat? Here are the ones to avoid.
In a hot L.A. neighborhood full of brown lawns, his DIY native plant garden thrives.

The 2024 Emmy nominations list went live

Here are the biggest snubs and surprises.
It was a banner year for Native representation.
FX dominated with ‘Shogun’ and ‘The Bear.’
‘Baby Reindeer’ received 11 Emmy nominations.
Here’s the full list of nominations.

More big stories

For companies in the Ozempic-fueled weight-loss economy, it’s survival of the fittest.
You may not know the name, but Bill Baird is the ‘father’ of birth control.
Why Olympic distance runners might be flocking to Flagstaff, Ariz., ahead of the L.A. Games.
Willow Bay explains why she and Bob Iger bought Angel City FC: ‘Culture-defining moment.’

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

Editorial board: Mayor Bass vetoed a police discipline ballot measure. Now she has to help create a new one.
Sammy Roth: Why Los Angeles can’t afford to go third on clean energy.
Anita Chabria: The vibe at the RNC is worse than you can imagine.
Mary McNamara: Finally, FX gets the Emmy recognition it deserves.

Today’s great reads

A black-and-white photo of over a dozen people gathered outside a small building painted with the words "McMartin Pre-School"

Wild claims of mass child molestation rocked an L.A. beach town. Truth was the first casualty. The McMartin Preschool trial ended with zero convictions. “McMartin” became a byword for social contagion, hysteria and the epic failure of trusted institutions: law enforcement, courts, the child-therapy establishment and the media.

Other great reads

People are obsessed with this weird pizza box. The company behind it won’t discuss it.
“Who is buying this?!” Has Erewhon’s ‘raw animal smoothie’ taken L.A. health food too far?

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

A woman reads a book as she walks near the water on a beach, people and a pier with colorful attractions behind her

Going out

🏖️ These are California’s dirtiest beaches. Where are you swimming this summer?
🌿 The California State Fair’s first-ever cannabis consumption lounge opened on Sunday.

Staying in

📖 A new photo book goes inside the homes of the creative community in Joshua Tree, Pioneertown, Yucca Valley and other high-desert locales.
📺 “Lady in the Lake” has been adapted into a seven-episode limited series, created by Alma Har’el and premiering Friday on Apple TV+.
🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Creamy Labneh Lemon Bars.
✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

A newspaper story headlined "Dream Realized---Disneyland Opens," with a photo of a boy inside a pot reading "Adventureland"

On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim. It was a nightmare. Here’s what reporter Brady MacDonald wrote about it in 2015:

Rides broke down. Restaurants ran out of food and drink, and a plumbers’ strike meant drinking fountains were in short supply. Long lines formed at bathrooms. Bunting hid unfinished attractions. Women’s high-heeled shoes sank into the fresh asphalt.

All in front of a national audience of 90 million, then the largest live broadcast in television history on a day that would be known in Disney lore as Black Sunday.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Defne Karabatur, fellow
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

Why Project 2025 and the GOP platform bash California