Bently Thomas "Ben" Elliott is an American writer who served as President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

’s director of speechwriting from 1982 to 1986. In this capacity he directed better known speechwriters like

Peggy Noonan Margaret Ellen "Peggy" Noonan (born September 7, 1950) is a weekly columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributor to NBC News and ABC News. She was a primary speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 19 ...

and

Peter Robinson Peter Robinson may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Robinson (sideshow artist) (1873–1947), American actor and sideshow performer, known for his appearance in film ''Freaks'' (1932) * J. Peter Robinson (born 1945), British musician and film score ...

, both of whom he hired.

Life

Elliott was born on November 6, 1944, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a 1966 graduate of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

Sept. 4, 2004,
Bucknell World
", December 8, 2010 and a 1970 graduate of The

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

. At Bucknell he played free safety for the Bison football team and was a member of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

fraternity. In 1962 he graduated from the

Haverford School The Haverford School is a private, non-sectarian, all-boys college preparatory day school, junior kindergarten through grade twelve. Founded in 1884 as The Haverford College Grammar School, it is located in Haverford, Pennsylvania. History ...

, which honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. In 1978, he worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In 1980, he was hired as White house speech writer, by

Ken Khachigian Kenneth L. Khachigian (born September 14, 1944, in Visalia, California) is an American political consultant, speechwriter, and attorney. He is best known for being a longtime aide to President Richard Nixon and chief speechwriter to President Ron ...

. In 1983, he succeeded him as chief speech writer. When Treasury Secretary

Don Regan Donald Thomas Regan (December 21, 1918 – June 10, 2003) was an American government official and business executive who served as the 66th United States secretary of the treasury from 1981 to 1985 and as the 11th White House chief of staff fr ...

took over as Reagan’s chief of staff in 1985, he asked Elliott to resign, which occurred in 1986.

Eleanor Clift Eleanor Irene Clift (''née'' Roeloffs; born July 7, 1940) is an American political journalist, television pundit, and author. She is a contributor to MSNBC and blogger for '' The Daily Beast''. She is best known as a regular panelist on '' The ...

reported, “Elliott, a staunch believer in

supply-side economics Supply-side economics is a Macroeconomics, macroeconomic theory postulating that economic growth can be most effectively fostered by Tax cuts, lowering taxes, Deregulation, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply- ...

and a fervent right-to-life advocate, clashed with Regan and other top presidential assistants over the rhetorical tone of the President's State of the Union address last January. Although Elliott was widely believed to have won the battle, his language was nevertheless softened considerably.” After leaving the White House, Elliott wrote speeches for

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician, professional Gridiron football, football player, and U.S. Army veteran. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from New York, he served a ...

, William Simon,

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

and the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. He serves as a speechwriter at

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

and is a trustee of Bucknell University. He has four children, one of whom
Tom Elliott
is the founder and CEO of the news-clipping platform
Grabien

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Ben T. 1944 births American male writers American speechwriters Haverford School alumni Living people Reagan administration personnel United States presidential advisors White House directors of speechwriting