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JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And can you talk about Orbán’s role in terms of Project 2025, the Danube Institute, and its relationship with the Heritage Foundation, and also his attempt to become a center for right-wing movements throughout Europe? KIM LANE SCHEPPELE: Yeah, exactly. So, first of all, you know, when Project 2025 came out, I sat down and read it, and the first thing I thought was, you know, this sounds so much like what Orbán did. And then, it turns out, a month later, there was a terrific article in The New Republic that made the connection. So, Orbán has this English-language think tank. It’s called the Danube Institute. You can google it and see what it’s up to. And the Danube Institute had entered into a formal agreement with the Heritage Foundation to actually provide consulting on how the Trump people were going to copy what Orbán had done. In the meantime, you know, when Orbán gives his Hungarian-language speeches, one of the things he keeps saying is, you know, “We are deep into the Trump administration and involved in its central planning.” So, you put all this together, and it’s actually not just that the Trump people are aping Orbán from a distance, it’s that Orbán has actually been involved in the design of Project 2025. This is excerpted from Democracy Now STORYFEBRUARY 12, 2025 “Are We Sleepwalking into Autocracy?” Trump Embraces Authoritarian Playbook of Hungary’s Orbán I had to eat three pieces of chocolate when I found this again and reread it. Karen
In years past I haven’t been very outspoken about having a show there, but it feels real important and fun to announce it on most platforms this time around. Check it out if you’re a curious cat. I had everyone in mind when creating it : ) 
