Former Reagan speechwriter knocks Trump during Democratic convention

"Donald Trump, you are no Ronald Reagan."

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 29 July 2016

Doug Elmets, a former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, admitted when he took the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday that it was not an event he'd ever thought he'd attend.

"Unlike many of you, I'm a Republican," he said. "Forty years ago, I cast my first vote for president, voting Republican that day like I would do time and again." He still reveres his former boss, and had a stinging message for Donald Trump. "I came here tonight to say I knew Ronald Reagan, I worked for Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump, you are no Ronald Reagan." Reagan, he continued, "famously said, 'Tear down this wall.' Trump says, 'Build the wall.' Reagan saw nuance and Trump sees the world as us versus them, where somebody with brown skin or a foreign sounding name is likely to blame for our troubles. Reagan knew a leader needs diplomacy to steer a safe, prosperous course forward. Trump is a petulant, dangerously unbalanced reality star who will coddle tyrants and alienate allies."

Elmets called the Republican Party's platform the most alarming he's ever seen, "laced with anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-women positions that do not represent the views of most Americans." While he does not agree with Hillary Clinton on every issue and policy, he plans to vote for her, the first time he'll ever cast his ballot for a Democrat, and asked Republicans who believe "loyalty to our country is more important than loyalty to our party" to do the same.