Former Secretary of State and retired 4-star general and Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell delivered a blistering rebuke of Donald Trump on CNN's State of the Union Sunday, and said he'd be voting for Joe Biden in 2020.
“He lies. He lies about things, and he gets away with it because people will not hold him accountable. … We're not a country of just a president,” said Powell.
Added Powell: “Our moral standing has been demonized Not only the world is thinking — they're just looking at us. They're looking at these demonstrations. They see that these are demonstrations that are justified. And not to be criticized. They see that George, as the president called him, was murdered and the president comes out and says, ‘Well, George is looking down from heaven and blessing what I'm doing.' How can you expect anybody to believe things like that? That's the kind of language we see coming from overseas.”
“The world is listening and what are they hearing? They're hearing we don't like immigrants, we don't want 'em in, let's kick them out. We're hearing that we don't like so many of our ethnic people, the ethnic slices that America represents. We don't like that. And they speak out against it. It's our strength. It's been our strength for 200 years. And we ought to stick up for immigration policies, we ought to stick up for our minorities, we have put more money into lower income classes of Americans, we need to get our kids educated, white and black, all of them, get educated like I was educated in the public school system of New York.”
Powell later said, “I think what we're seeing now, those massive protest movements I have ever seen in my life, I think this suggests that the country is getting wise to this and we're not going to put up with it anymore. … I'm very close to Joe Biden in a social manner and political manner. I've worked with him for 35, 40 years, and he is now the candidate and I will be voting for him.”
And Trump has been rattled by it, tweeting: “Colin Powell, a real stiff who was very responsible for getting us into the disastrous Middle East Wars, just announced he will be voting for another stiff, Sleepy Joe Biden. Didn't Powell say that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction?” They didn't, but off we went to WAR! … Somebody please tell highly overrated Colin Powell that I will have gotten almost 300 Federal Judges approved (a record), Two Great Supreme Court Justices, rebuilt our once depleted Military, Choice for Vets, Biggest Ever Tax & Regulation Cuts, Saved Healthcare & 2A, & much more!”
The New York Times on Saturday night took a look at prominent Republicans who won't be voting for Trump and might even vote for Joe Biden: “Former President George W. Bush won't support the re-election of Mr. Trump, and Jeb Bush isn't sure how he'll vote, say people familiar with their thinking. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah won't back Mr. Trump and is deliberating whether to again write in his wife, Ann, or cast another ballot this November. And Cindy McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain, is almost certain to support Mr. Biden but is unsure how public to be about it because one of her sons is eying a run for office. … Former Republican leaders like the former Speakers Paul D. Ryan and John A. Boehner won't say how they will vote, and some Republicans who are already disinclined to support Mr. Trump are weighing whether to go beyond backing a third-party contender to openly endorse Mr. Biden.”
