Let’s call it “Love and Rockets Week,” as we pivot from sexual immorality to the pressing global events around warfare. With the mayhem Putin’s Russia is sending all around the planet, one might imagine that far-right conservatives would be laser-focused on the continuing threat Russia poses to American interests.
Recently, a reader asked this question: “What does Project 2025 say about Russia?” Answer: Not as much as it should.
Project 2025 mentions Russia 76 times. For comparison, here are the foreign threats it cites and the number of times they are mentioned:
China 344 times
Russia 76 times
Iran 37 times
North Korea 19 times
The mainstream media has made much of 45’s comments regarding NATO and how his actions will enable Putin’s Russia. Project 2025 calls for member countries to “share the burden” of deterrence, although 45 has stated that he will withdraw from NATO if elected.
Increase allied conventional defense burden-sharing. U.S. allies must take far greater responsibility for their conventional defense. U.S. allies must play their part not only in dealing with China, but also in dealing with threats from Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
1. Make burden-sharing a central part of U.S. defense strategy with the United States not just helping allies to step up, but strongly encouraging them to do so.
2. Support greater spending and collaboration by Taiwan and allies in the Asia–Pacific like Japan and Australia to create a collective defense model.
3. Transform NATO so that U.S. allies are capable of fielding the great majority of the conventional forces required to deter Russia while relying on the United States primarily for our nuclear deterrent, and select other capabilities while reducing the U.S. force posture in Europe.
4. Sustain support for Israel even as America empowers Gulf partners to take responsibility for their own coastal, air, and missile defenses both individually and working collectively.
5. Enable South Korea to take the lead in its conventional defense against North Korea.
Project 2025, page 94
The framers of Project 2025 also call for a dramatic expansion of the US nuclear weapons arsenal, ostensibly to deter China and Russia.
Implement nuclear modernization and expansion. The United States manifestly needs to modernize, adapt, and expand its nuclear arsenal. Russia maintains and is actively brandishing a very large nuclear arsenal, but China is also undertaking a historic nuclear breakout.
1. Expand and modernize the U.S. nuclear force so that it has the size, sophistication, and tailoring to deter Russia and China simultaneously.
2. Develop a nuclear arsenal with the size, sophistication, and tailoring— including new capabilities at the theater level—to ensure that there is no circumstance in which America is exposed to serious nuclear coercion.
Project 2025, pages 94 - 95
Here is what Project 2025 says about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Note that Project 2025 was published in 2022, well before it became fashionable for Republicans to deny continued military aid to Ukraine.
Russia One issue today that starkly divides conservatives is the Russia–Ukraine con-flict. The common ground seems to be recognition that presidential leadership in 2025 must chart the course.
One school of conservative thought holds that as Moscow’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine drags on, Russia presents major challenges to U.S. interests, as well as to peace, stability, and the post-Cold War security order in Europe. This viewpoint argues for continued U.S. involvement including military aid, economic aid, and the presence of NATO and U.S. troops if necessary. The end goal of the conflict must be the defeat of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a return to pre-invasion border lines.
Another school of conservative thought denies that U.S. Ukrainian support is in the national security interest of America at all. Ukraine is not a member of the NATO alliance and is one of the most corrupt nations in the region. European nations directly affected by the conflict should aid in the defense of Ukraine, but the U.S. should not continue its involvement. This viewpoint desires a swift end to the conflict through a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia.
The tension between these competing positions has given rise to a third approach. This conservative viewpoint eschews both isolationism and interventionism. Rather, each foreign policy decision must first ask the question: What is in the interest of the American people? U.S. military engagement must clearly fall within U.S. interests; be fiscally responsible; and protect American freedom, liberty, and sovereignty, all while recognizing Communist China as the greatest threat to U.S. interests. Thus, with respect to Ukraine, continued U.S. involvement must be fully paid for; limited to military aid (while European allies address Ukraine’s economic needs); and have a clearly defined national security strategy that does not risk American lives.
Regardless of viewpoints, all sides agree that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is unjust and that the Ukrainian people have a right to defend their homeland. Furthermore, the conflict has severely weakened Putin’s military strength and provided a boost to NATO unity and its importance to European nations. The next conservative President has a generational opportunity to bring res-olution to the foreign policy tensions within the movement and chart a new path forward that recognizes Communist China as the defining threat to U.S. interests in the 21st century.
Project 2025, pages 181 - 182
Project 2025 devotes scant verbiage to the problem of Russia, nor does it propose solutions for dealing with Putin other than increased nuclear capabilities and more military spending.
Christian Nationalists also believe we are living in the Last Days of the earth. I wrote about how they view Russia’s role in the Last Days here.
Given the role Christian Nationalists believe Russia plays in making their Bibles come true, it makes sense that they wouldn’t try to deter Putin when writing their Christo-fascist manifesto.
The 'defining threat to U.S. interests in the 21st century', and to all of humanity, is illiberalism. That and climate change. Nothing gets better until we learn that.