Former president Donald Trump’s campaign has expended considerable energy trying to deny its candidate’s myriad connections with the arch-conservative Project 2025 manifesto that advocates for an authoritarian, Christian nationalist America. His running mate isn’t helping the cause. CNN reported Monday that Ohio Senator JD Vance is leaning on Trump-era Treasury Department official Monica Crowley as he prepares for next week’s televised debate against his Democratic opposite on the Democratic ticket, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Crowley, who is playing the role of moderator in mock debates, was also listed as one of the contributors who “generously volunteered their time and effort to assist the authors in the development and writing of” the Project 2025 manifesto, The New Republic noted Tuesday. Policies proposed in the document include a national ban on pornography, ceding the autonomy of the Justice Department to direct executive branch control, and essentially abandoning efforts to stem climate change. “We have a lot of confidence in JD speaking about policy,” one Trumpworld source told CNN, of Vance’s debate prep.