Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Doug Elmets

PHILADELPHIA, July 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It's an honor to be here; candidly, it's also a shock.

Not because of the momentous nature of this event, or the size of the crowd.

It's a shock because, unlike many of you, I'm a Republican.

Forty years ago, I cast my first vote for president, voting Republican that day like I would do time and again.

I haven't just voted Republican, I worked in President Reagan's White House. I recently led an effort to place a statue of Ronald Reagan in California's Capitol.

I'm here tonight to say: I knew Ronald Reagan; I worked for Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump, you are no Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan famously said, "Tear down this wall." Trump says, "Build the wall," — because that will "Make America Great Again."

Reagan saw nuance. Trump sees the world as us vs. them, where somebody with brown skin or a foreign-sounding name is likely to blame for our troubles.

Reagan knew that 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.

I shudder to think where he might lead our great nation. Fortunately, I don't believe he'll get that chance.

While Hillary holds many policy positions that differ from my own, her qualifications are indisputable.

Hillary knows that our strength as a nation lies in uniting, not dividing.

This year's Republican platform is the most alarming I've ever seen. It's laced with anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-women positions that do not represent the views of most Americans.

That is why this year, I will vote for a Democrat for the first time.

To my fellow Republicans: If you, like I do, believe loyalty to our country is more important than loyalty to party; if you want a President with a good judgment, a steady hand, and the temperament to represent our Nation to the world – and our children; I ask you to join me in voting for Hillary Clinton as President of the United States.

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SOURCE 2016 Democratic National Convention Committee

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