The co-writer of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s 2000 book “The America We Deserve” said he’s not voting for the outspoken real estate mogul, who he said has shown “no class” on the 2016 campaign trail.
Writer Dave Shiflett said Trump deals in themes, rather than policy specifics. Shiflett made the remarks in a Wednesday interview on Fox News radio’s “Alan Colmes Show,” which was first reported by BuzzFeed.
“I used to think it was my first work of fiction,” Shiflett said of the book, timed for release when Trump was first toying with the idea of running for president with the Reform Party. “Who knows where he stands on anything, he’s a thematic sort of person.”
Asked if he would vote for the candidate, Shiflett said the Republican’s comments bashing Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pushed him over the edge.
“I’ll tell you what really bugs me about him, where it really ripped it with me and Trump was the stuff he said about McCain,” he said. “McCain suffered severely, and I had a son who did two tours in Middle East during the last war and we had kids from here who went over there and some of them got hurt. They ain’t gonna be the same.”
He described Trump’s politics as “progressive” and “very liberal” back in 2000, when the mogul favored single-payer healthcare and tax increases for the very wealthy.
Shiflett also noted Trump’s disdain for former politician Pat Buchanan, whom he said had said “too many outrageous and controversial things” to ever be considered a viable candidate for president.
Listen to the full interview, via KFILE on Soundcloud:
