J.D. Vance Has a Surprising, Extremist Debate Prep Coach

Despite spending months trying to distance themselves from Project 2025, the top of the Republican presidential ticket seems committed to bringing the Christian nationalist manifesto closer to the White House.

Republican vice presidential pick J.D. Vance has enlisted key allies, including a Project 2025 contributor, in his debate prep sessions ahead of his first face-off against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on October 1, according to CNN.

Monica Crowley, who served as the United States assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs in the Trump administration, will assist Vance as a mock moderator this week, according to two unnamed sources that spoke with CNN. Crowley is listed in the Project 2025 policy book as a contributor. Project 2025 describes contributors as people who “generously volunteered their time and effort to assist the authors in the development and writing of the volume’s 30 chapters.”  

Vance has appeared remarkably open to the 920-page, far-right agenda. The Ohio senator has previously applauded Project 2025’s policy goals, telling Newsmax in July that “there are some good ideas in there,” and has advanced ideas for a second Trump administration that align with the project’s details, including overhauling the federal government with thousands of cherry-picked Trump loyalists.

Crowley is reportedly involved with the debate preparations in order to make the mock sessions feel as “real and professional” as possible.

“One of the benefits of doing hostile media nonstop is you become very well-versed in dealing with attacks on your record,” one source with direct knowledge of the preparation told CNN. “We have a lot of confidence in J.D. speaking about policy. The goal is to focus on Walz and his weaknesses.”

Project 2025 has advanced seemingly outrageous policy positions, including dismantling wholesale staples of the executive branch such as the Department of Education. It also proposes revisiting federal approval of the abortion pill, banning pornography nationwide, placing the Justice Department under the control of the president, slashing federal funds for climate change research in an effort to sideline mitigation efforts, and increasing funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

On July 5, Trump claimed that he “knew nothing about Project 2025” and had “no idea who is behind it.”

“I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

But just Monday night, he made a campaign promise straight out of the Project 2025 playbook: abolishing the Department of Education.