Former The West Wing actor Richard Schiff called Donald Trump “unaware,” “temperamental” and “uneducated as to the ways of the world” Friday while campaigning for Hillary Clinton on Ohio University’s campus.
Schiff, who played the White House Communications Director in the NBC show, spoke to a crowd of about 50 people in Schoonover Center in an attempt by the Clinton campaign to bolster young voter registration.
“This man is just not qualified and in fact truly, truly dangerous,” Schiff said of the Republican candidate. “It’s not a question of the lesser of two evils, it’s evil or not evil. Those are your choices.”
Schiff told the audience, which was mostly comprised of students, that it was particularly important for young people to vote in this election, even if they are “unenthusiastic” about Clinton.
“As she clearly admits, she's not her husband and she's not Barack Obama, and she's not charming and charismatic, (but) she's got much more inside than she’s revealing,” he said. “What I say to young people is the ramifications and the fallout of this election are going to be much greater ... than even 2000.”
Schiff said he originally supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but cautioned against voting for a third-party candidate this election, as many former Sanders supporters are likely to do.
“Vote your conscience, vote your gut but be ready for that fallout,” he said. “All due respect, if Trump gets into the White House, accept responsibility for the ramifications.”
The Clinton campaign will target Ohio with several big-name supporters in the upcoming week. Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Chelsea Clinton and actor Sean Patrick Thomas will make appearances in the state in the next few days.
Saturday, actor John Lithgow will be canvassing for Clinton in Athens.
“I think the event is the beginning of putting OU on the map for our organized efforts (on Clinton’s campaign),” Aleks Tyler, a student volunteer said.
Recent polls show Trump’s campaign has been gaining ground in the state, especially in Southeast Ohio.
Schiff said he turned down a new acting project to support Clinton, campaigning in Pennsylvania before making three stops in Ohio this week.
“That’s part of the reason I dropped out of the project, because I felt the stakes were so high and I offered myself up to wherever they wanted me to go,” he said.
Sam Miller, a student volunteer for the Clinton campaign and president of the College Democrats, said she hoped the event would appeal to college-aged fans of The West Wing.
“The main point of it is just to let students know that Hillary has a really amazing plan,” she said. “This election is going to be huge. There’s a lot on the line.”
Schiff was asked several questions about his time on the show by event attendees, and noted similarities between the show’s characters and Clinton, saying they all wanted to leave the world a better place, despite sometimes having personal flaws.
But when asked if he was interested in lining up a communication director position in Clinton’s White House, like his character in the show, he replied:
“God no.”
