Former President Donald Trump was trolled by the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which projected hilarious messages onto Trump Tower in Chicago on the eve of the event.
One projection tied Trump to Project 2025, a set of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation aimed at restructuring the United States federal government and consolidating executive power if the Republican nominee wins the 2024 presidential election.
Although Trump has claimed to have no knowledge of these proposals, it's worth noting that of the 38 individuals responsible for writing and editing Project 2025, 31 were appointed or nominated to positions in the Trump administration and transition.
This appeared to be on the DNC's mind when they projected the words "Project 2025 HQ" onto the building emblazoned with Trump's name, which you can see below per NBC News' Alex Tabet.
The messages displayed on the tower, Chicago's second-tallest building, aimed to contrast Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, with the Republican ticket.
At one point, the DNC projected the following words mocking Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, onto the building:
"Trump-Vance: 'Weird as Hell.'"
This is a reference to a line of attack initiated by Walz, calling Republicans "creepy" and "weird as hell" because they "want to take books away" and "be in your exam room."
This has given Democrats a messaging advantage in the weeks since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and endorsed Harris to be his successor.
You can see the image below.
@ashleyckd/X
Compare that message to the one the DNC projected about Harris and Walz, who currently lead Trump in several key swing states:
"Harris-Walz: Joy and Hope."
You can see it below.
@NHJennifer/X
The DNC released the following statement ahead of the convention:
"All eyes are on Chicago, and tonight, everyone is receiving a preview of the contrast that Democrats will drive throughout the Democratic National Convention this week – directly on Trump International Hotel."
The organization said Harris and Walz "have proven records of delivering for working families," adding:
"Now, they’re running to lead our country into a brighter future. Donald Trump and JD Vance are running on their backwards Project 2025 agenda, which would make the lives of our families worse and take away their freedoms, while granting Trump power like no president has had before."
Many appreciated the DNC's clever trolling.
Harris will officially accept the Democratic Party's nomination on Thursday, the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
As the convention kicks off on Monday, just weeks after Harris entered the race, she is leading or tied with Trump in six of seven key swing states, according to findings from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Though Harris and Trump are tied in Georgia, she leads in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
This change comes as the Harris campaign repeatedly takes the Trump campaign to task for not campaigning in swing states, mocking Trump for being "low energy" by largely dispatching Vance to the campaign trail in his stead.
