“I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect,” Colin Powell allegedly wrote of Hillary Clinton in an email hacked and revealed in September. But times have changed.
During a speech to the Long Island Association on Tuesday, the former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced he is backing the Democrat. Newsday’s Robert Brodsky was on the scene:
Boom. Colin Powell says he will vote for Hillary Clinton. Says will serve w/ distinction and cites experience and stamina
— Robert Brodsky (@BrodskyRobert) October 25, 2016
Says Trump"selling ppl a bill of goods." Says he is not qualified and has insulted huge swath of people. Full throttled Hillary endorsement https://t.co/LAsS7yglEm
— Robert Brodsky (@BrodskyRobert) October 25, 2016
Colin Powell on Donald Trump: "he insults us every day." Says he insults his supporters w/ his actions https://t.co/pklQaJs7T9
— Robert Brodsky (@BrodskyRobert) October 25, 2016
Powell’s spokeswoman has not responded to a request for comment.
Powell is a Republican who served in Republican administrations, but he also backed Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012. As I write on our running register of which GOP figures are supporting Trump, Powell was plainly disgusted by Trump in the hacked emails, but he was also wary of a Clinton presidency, saying, “Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris,” and complaining that she was overly ambitious and alluding to Bill Clinton’s marital dalliances.
The endorsement puts Powell in line with a variety of other center-right, national-security establishment figures who have opted to cross party lines rather than back Trump this year.
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