Kevin Roberts (political strategist)

Last updated
Kevin Roberts
Kevin Roberts (cropped).jpg
Roberts in 2023
President of The Heritage Foundation
and Heritage Action
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 1, 2021

Kevin David Roberts (born June 24, 1974) is an American historian and political strategist who is the president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative political think tank, and its lobbying arm, Heritage Action. Prior to assuming his current role, he was the CEO of another conservative think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. [1] Roberts served as the president of Wyoming Catholic College from 2013 to 2016. [2] [3]

Contents

Soon after Roberts joined Heritage in December 2021, the organization established Project 2025, an expansive plan to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power after Donald Trump is inaugurated into office following the 2024 presidential election. [4]

Early life and education

Roberts was born June 24, 1974 in Lafayette, Louisiana, to James A. Roberts Sr. and Susan P. Rabalais ( née Pitre). [5] [6] He has one sister, Lori Roberts Romero. [5] Roberts' parents divorced in 1979 when he was four. His father struggled with alcoholism, and his brother took his own life at 15. [7] Roberts graduated from Lafayette High School in 1992, earned a bachelor's degree in history magna cum laude from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1996, earned a Master of Arts in history from Virginia Tech in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. in American history from University of Texas at Austin in 2003. [1] [5]

Career

New Mexico State University

Roberts worked as an assistant professor of history at New Mexico State University from 2003 to 2005. [8]

Wyoming Catholic College

Roberts served as president of Wyoming Catholic College from 2013 to 2016 when he accepted his position as executive vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

During his tenure as president of Wyoming Catholic College, Roberts led the institution to an outright rejection of Title IV federal student loans and grants, citing religious liberty concerns. [9] The decision made the college one of just a few colleges in the nation to reject such funding. In an article on the decision, The New York Times described Roberts and his students as "cowboy Catholics" for their independence. [10]

Heritage Foundation

In October 2021, it was announced that Roberts had been selected to replace Kay Coles James as president of the Heritage Foundation. [11] [12]

In September 2023, Roberts was selected as president of Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation, after the executive director, Jessica Anderson, took a leave of absence in July 2023. [13] [14] Roberts "serves both organizations in a joint role." [15]

In January 2024, Roberts said that he did not believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. He also said that he saw Heritage's role as "institutionalizing Trumpism," adding "the Trump administration, with the best of intentions, simply got a slow start. And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated." [16]

When asked during a June 2024 interview if Heritage would accept the results of the 2024 presidential election regardless of its outcome, Roberts replied, "yes, if there isn't massive fraud like there was in 2020." Despite the persistence of an election denial movement, no evidence of material election fraud in 2020 was found. When presented with data from the Heritage election fraud database indicating there were just 1,513 proven instances of voter fraud in the United States since 1982, Roberts responded that fraud is "very hard to document, and the Democrat party is very good at fraud." [17] [18] Roberts also asserted that liberals "are supporting legislation that abortion can happen until three days after the person's born." [19] [20]

Appearing on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast in July 2024 to be interviewed by former Congressman Dave Brat, Roberts said: "Let me speak about the radical left. You and I have both been parts of faculties and faculty senates, and understand that the left has taken over our institutions [...] In spite of all this nonsense from the left, we are going to win. We’re in the process of taking this country back [...] our side is winning.” [21] [22] "We ought to be really encouraged by what happened yesterday," said Roberts, in reference to the Supreme Court deciding in former President Donald Trump's case that presidents have significant immunity against being prosecuted for actions in office. [22] [23] Roberts continued: "We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be". [23] Shortly after, the Foundation released a statement which added, "Unfortunately, they have a well established record of instigating the opposite," though right-wing groups have been responsible for most political violence in recent history. [24] [25] [26]

Days after Trump released a statement seeking to distance himself from Project 2025, Roberts said, "So no hard feelings from any of us at Project 2025 about the statement because we understand Trump is the standard bearer and he's making a political tactical decision there." [27]

Roberts has authored a book originally scheduled for release on September 24, 2024. It was originally titled Dawn's Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America and more recently titled Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America . [28] [29] The volume includes a foreword by vice presidential candidate JD Vance. [29] [30] [31] Amid the controversy surrounding Project 2025, in August 2024 Roberts postponed the book release until after the November election. [32] Roberts launched book promotion events in Manhattan and Washington, D.C. shortly after the election. On November 13, 2024 The Guardian published an account of the weird reception encountered by one of their reporters at one of the promotional events. The reporter was expelled and not allowed to participate although the newspaper had received an invitation to attend the event. [33]

Colin Dickey of the New Republic says the book reveals paranoid, Stalinist tactics like using conspiracy theories to violently enforce the right's vision for the world. [34] In the book, Roberts criticizes birth control and law enforcement (preferring more of a heavily-armed frontier-like society), while promoting public prayer as a key tool in the competition with China. [34]

Personal life

Roberts has close ties and receives regular spiritual guidance from the Catholic Information Center, led by an Opus Dei priest and incorporated by the archdiocese of Washington, D.C. [35]

Roberts and his wife, Michelle LaFleur Roberts, who is Catholic, have four children and are members of a Springfield, Virginia parish. [5] [36] His oldest child, Emma Claire, was born while he was writing his doctoral dissertation. [5]

A number of Roberts' former colleagues from New Mexico State University recalled that he bragged about killing his neighbor's dog with a shovel because the dog's barking annoyed him. Roberts disputed this claim. [37]

Publications

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References

  1. 1 2 "Texas Public Policy Foundation announces Kevin Roberts as new Executive Vice President". Texas Public Policy Foundation. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. ↑ Samuels, Brett (October 14, 2021). "Heritage Foundation names new president". The Hill . Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  3. ↑ Wermund, Benjamin (October 14, 2021). "Texan Kevin Roberts, 'a D.C. outsider,' picked to lead conservative Heritage Foundation". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  4. ↑ Levien, Simon J. (June 27, 2024). "Biden Campaign Takes Aim at Project 2025, a Set of Conservative Proposals". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, Kevin D. (2003). "Slaves and slavery in Louisiana: The evolution of Atlantic world identities, 1791–1831". hdl:2152/885 . Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Betty Pitre Obituary 2009". Lafond-Ardoin Funeral Homes. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  7. ↑ "Wyoming's 'Cowboy Catholic' could remake government if Trump wins | County 17". 2024-02-11. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  8. ↑ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (2024-09-24). "Project 2025 mastermind allegedly told colleagues he killed a dog with a shovel". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  9. ↑ "Catholic College Won't Compromise Beliefs, Rejects Federal Financial Aid". FOX News Insider. 2015-03-29. Archived from the original on 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  10. ↑ Healy, Jack (April 11, 2015). "To Keep Free of Federal Reins, Wyoming Catholic College Rejects Student Aid". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  11. ↑ Wegmann, Philip (October 14, 2021). "Heritage Names 'D.C. Outsider' Roberts as New President". RealClearPolitics . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ Samuels, Brett (October 14, 2021). "Heritage Foundation names new president". The Hill . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Kevin D. Roberts, PhD". The Heritage Foundation . Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  14. ↑ "Heritage Action Executive Director Announces Leave of Absence for…". Heritage Action . Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  15. ↑ "Kevin D. Roberts, PhD". The Heritage Foundation . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  16. ↑ Garcia-Navarro, Lulu (January 21, 2024). "Inside the Heritage Foundation's Plans for 'Institutionalizing Trumpism'". The New York Times .
  17. ↑ "Top Project 2025 architect talks conservative blueprint for Trump second term". MSNBC . June 22, 2024.
  18. ↑ Yoon, Robert (August 27, 2023). "Trump's drumbeat of lies about the 2020 election keeps getting louder. Here are the facts". Associated Press News .
  19. ↑ Luciano, Michael (June 23, 2024). "'That Is an Absurd Assertion!' MSNBC Host Shuts Down Guest Who Claimed Democrats Want Abortions 'Three Days After the Person's Born'". Mediaite .
  20. ↑ Dale, Daniel (June 6, 2024). "Fact check: Trump falsely claims Democratic states are passing laws allowing people to execute babies after birth". CNN .
  21. ↑ Bump, Philip (July 3, 2024). "The target of the right's 'revolution' is pluralistic democracy itself". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  22. 1 2 Astor, Maggie (July 3, 2024). "Heritage Foundation Head Refers to 'Second American Revolution'". The New York Times . Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Barber, Rachel (July 3, 2024). "Project 2025 head says 'second American Revolution' will be 'bloodless if the left allows'". USA Today . Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  24. ↑ The Heritage Foundation [@Heritage] (July 3, 2024). "The Second American Revolution will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be. Unfortunately, they have a well established record of instigating the opposite" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ↑ Klepper, David; Amiri, Farnoush (July 18, 2024). "FACT FOCUS: Heritage Foundation leader wrong to say most political violence is committed by the left". Associated Press News .
  26. ↑ Jasko, Katarzyna; LaFree, Gary; Piazza, James; Becker, Michael (July 2022). "A Comparison of Political Violence by Left-wing, Right-wing and Islamist Extremists in the United States and the World". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . In this research we address these gaps by comparing the use of political violence by left-wing, right-wing, and Islamist extremists in the United States and worldwide using two unique datasets that cover real-world examples of politically motivated, violent behaviors. Across both datasets, we find that radical acts perpetrated by individuals associated with left-wing causes are less likely to be violent. In the United States, we find no difference between the level of violence perpetrated by right-wing and Islamist extremists
  27. ↑ "Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts: "The overlap is tremendous" between Trump's campaign platform and Project 2025". Media Matters. July 11, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America". amazon.com. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  29. 1 2 "Dawn's Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  30. ↑ McCoy, Robert (July 24, 2024). "J.D. Vance in Serious Trouble After Damning Project 2025 Book Foreword". The New Republic . Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  31. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (July 24, 2024). "JD Vance writes foreword for Project 2025 leader's upcoming book". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  32. ↑ Mascaro, Lisa (August 7, 2024). "Project 2025's new leader Kevin Roberts postpones his own book launch until after the election". Associated Press News .
  33. ↑ Gabbatt, Adam, ‘Go to hell’: how Project 2025 chief kicked the Guardian out of book event , The Guardian , November 13, 2024
  34. 1 2 Dickey, Colin (August 9, 2024). "Voters Have a Right to Know What Kevin Roberts's Disturbing Book Says". The New Republic . ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  35. ↑ Leingang, Rachel; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (July 26, 2024). "Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025, has close ties to radical Catholic group Opus Dei". The Guardian.
  36. ↑ "A New Leader Has Transformed Heritage. Now He Wants to Transform Conservatism". 29 January 2024.
  37. ↑ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (2024-09-24). "Project 2025 mastermind allegedly told colleagues he killed a dog with a shovel". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  38. ↑ Roberts, Kevin (2024). Dawn's Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America. HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0063353503.
  39. ↑ "Project 2025's new leader Kevin Roberts postpones his own book launch until after the election". Associated Press News . 7 August 2024.
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