Conservative columnist George Will says he's changed his party affiliation, and during a speech urged Republicans not to vote for presumptive party nominee Donald Trump. "This is not my party," Will reportedly said Friday during a luncheon held by the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian organization.
WALLACE: Well, before we get to Britain leaving the E.U., George, I want to talk about you. You announced this week that you have left the Republican Party. Why? WILL: I left it for the same reason I joined it in 1964 when I voted for Barry Goldwater. I joined it because I was a conservative. But I leave for the same reason, that I'm a conservative. To give you a time line, shortly after Trump became the presumptive nominee, he had a summit meeting with Paul Ryan where they stressed their common principles and their vast shared ground, which is much more important than their differences. I thought that was puzzling doubly so because Paul Ryan still didn't endorse him. After Trump went after the Mexican judge from northern Indiana, then Paul Ryan endorsed him. And I decided that, in fact, this is not my party anymore. I changed my registration to unaffiliated 23 days ago. I hardly made an announcement. I just mentioned this in a meeting with the Federalist Society. So the long and the short of it is, as Ronald Reagan said when he changed his registration, I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me. WALLACE: Now, not surprisingly, Donald Trump has tweeted his reaction to this news today. Let's put it up on the screen. He says that you are "overrated" and that you lost your way a long time ago. Would you like to respond to Mr. Trump? WILL: Only, he has an advantage on me because he can say everything he knows about any subject in 140 characters and I can't.